


Something That Finds You

by AngelofShadows



Series: To Love and Be Loved [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Dads of Marmora (Voltron), Emotional Keith, Galra Keith (Voltron), Homesickness, Keith and Katie are menaces, Keith just wants to go home dammit, Kinda, Mood Swings, Multi, Mutual Pining, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Shiro (Voltron), Pre-Kerberos Mission, Shenanigans, Shiro is a ray of sunshine, Shiro's family is wonderful, Shiro's siblings are terrible wingmen, Socially Awkward Keith (Voltron), keith is confused, these boys are gonna kill me, they work it out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-06-27
Packaged: 2019-05-09 16:10:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14719325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelofShadows/pseuds/AngelofShadows
Summary: Keith is lost. He has been sent far away from his home and his family, so they can keep him safe. But he wants to keep them safe too. He will do whatever it takes to get back home, but it’s not that easy. While he tries to navigate Earth and its alien customs, he meets allies, friends, his own pack. And through all of it, standing steadfast beside him, is the human he falls in love with.Maybe being stranded on this backwards planet isn’t as bad as he first thought.Love isn't something you find. Love is something that finds you.– Loretta Young





	1. The Shack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELCOME BACK EVERYBODY! I was going to wait until it had been a whole month to post this, but you know what? I graduated college this morning. I feel on top of the fucking world. So here, have the first chapter of Part 2!! Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go jump into the ocean and find a shark to wrestle. Enjoy!

Keith has heard about the desert from his dad, and from his other dad. The human one. They both described it as a place full of sand, where it’s hot and dusty during the day, and grows remarkably cool at night. Keith always wondered what a place like that would look like. He knew, in theory, what sand was, but he’d never seen it with his own eyes. He’d lived in an asteroid from the time he was two until now. But he’d wondered. He dreamed about seeing Earth one day and finding out firsthand what a desert was like.

Turns out, deserts are very dusty.

Keith’s ship lands in the same place his mother’s ship took off from fourteen years previously. In front of a tiny wooden building amidst miles and miles of infinitesimal rock particles. Sand. Real sand. And Keith can’t appreciate it. Because he may have always wanted to come here, but never alone. Never without his fathers.

Keith had tried the whole way to override the “Keith-proofing” on the auto-pilot, but to no avail. His dads were adamant about keeping him safe. Which, okay, he got. They were his _dads_ after all. They’d do anything to keep him out of harm’s way. But Keith wants to protect them too. He has too. They’re the only people he cares about, that he loves. And he’s going to get back to them. No matter what he has to do.

As the ship lands, Keith hops out and walks towards the little building. This was where he was born. Where his mother and father had met and fell in love and where he spent the first year and a half of his life. He’s not sure how he’s supposed to be feeling, but, he knows he wishes he wasn’t not alone.

The door is locked, but he knows where the key is. It was found in one of the many boxes on the ship and had since been tied around Kaagra’s neck. He pulls his bag around and pulls out the stuffed animal, slipping the cord over its head and fingering the small piece of metal curiously. He… doesn’t actually know how keys work. He looks at the door again and sees that the metal handle has a weird hole in it. Keith tries to push the key in. it doesn’t fit. He frowns and turns the key upside down. This time it slides in easily, but nothing happens.

Keith growls quietly and tries to twist the key, and remarkably, it works. Keith, on a whim, tries the handle again, and it turns this time. The door opens with a sharp squeak that makes Keith jump. Before he can enter though, he pauses, ears picking up on something underneath the whistle of the wind. It sounds like… singing. No, purring? It’s something deep and powerful, and yet barely there, like a whisper. And then just as suddenly as it started, it cuts off. Keith shakes his head and frowns. He wonders what kind of strange Earth creature could have made that noise. But he decides that for the moment, it is unimportant, and thus turns back to the small wooden shack.

He takes a step inside, and immediately sneezes. The place is coated in dust, which is not surprising. No one has been here in years. There is a sofa in one corner, and a bed in the other. There are star charts and blueprints on the wall, made of… paper? He hardly ever sees paper. Maybe it’s more common to use it on Earth. There is a small kitchen-like area when he turns his head in the other direction, and next to an old wooden (oh Gods, so much _wood_ ) desk, there is an open door that leads to a bathroom.

Keith nods and sets his bag down on the couch. It will do.

Now, time to start cleaning.

~*~

Two vargas later, the room seems to be relatively dust-free. Keith plops down on the couch (and is grateful when there is no puff of dust to greet him) and pulls out his tablet. He taps around briefly before figuring out how to hook himself into the planet-wide Earth database, seemingly called “the internet”. Then he starts searching.

He looks for anything that could possibly get him off planet, but his dad had been right; Earth had barely begun to venture out into their own solar system, let alone the rest of the universe. Keith growls under his breath but looks at the first few entries.

The first thing he finds is something called “NASA”. But it seems that particular organization is more interested in studying the planets the humans are already familiar with. Namely their moon and a relatively close planet called Mars, where they are hoping to have a colony in the next ten years.

Keith snorts. Humans are a lot more primitive than he thought if they don’t even have an off-world colony yet. There is apparently a very small one on the moon, but it’s only for researchers.

He keeps looking. A lot of the stuff he finds initially is related to NASA, but he does finally come across something different. The Galaxy Garrison. Keith snorts again. They’re hardly a “Galaxy” anything if they haven’t even made it halfway across their own solar system. But he looks anyway, and… this might actually be promising.

The Garrison seems to be more military-oriented than NASA is, and they seem focused almost solely on exploration. It might not get Keith very far, but he would have access to Earth’s best exploratory tech, and maybe he could figure out how to reconfigure his ship so he could get home.

He swipes around a little more and finds out that right now is the middle of what is called “Spring Break”, where cadets are off visiting their families. It’s the middle of the year, so he can’t get in right now, but apparently the Garrison will be accepting new applications for first-year students at the beginning of “summer”. The site says that they need to be at least eighteen but will make a very rare exception if the student is skilled enough. Keith smirks. He’s got this.

The application is easy to find online, and there will be an aptitude test at their facility – which according to coordinates, is not that far away from the shack –  one month into summer. That should be plenty of time for Keith to fill out the application and figure out what else he needs to know.

Keith turns off his tablet and leans back. It might take him a while, but he’s going home.

~*~

A few vargas later, Keith realizes he probably needs food. He still has some of his rations from his journey, but he’ll run out soon enough, so he locates a nearby town, and starts walking. It only takes him a varga to get there. Not so bad in the long run. When he gets there, Keith stops, and stares.

There are _humans._ People who look like him. Or at least, how he looks most of the time. He can’t help but just… wander around and stare at people. He finally blends in. Not that he ever felt out of place in the Blade. He knew that no one cared what he looked like, but it’s still… a little overwhelming.

It is in this town that he finds out very quickly that he has no idea how to interreact around non-Galra. Like, at all.

He tries to talk to people, but they find it weird. When he asks people for directions and they help him, he tries to scent them in thanks, but they pull away with shock.

He hears the word “weird” a lot.

“You’re so weird!”

“That’s a weird thing to do.”

“Don’t talk to strangers, that’s weird.”

And, more commonly than even the “weird” comments: “That’s inappropriate!”

Is it? It’s inappropriate to be nice to people? To be friendly? How strange.

He encounters another strange thing when he goes to pay for the food he’s bought (it is another story all together, how difficult it was to buy food. He didn’t know what half the things in the store even were, and he had to guess with the other half).

“That’ll be ninety seventy-two.” The clark says, and Keith… isn’t sure what that means. Nine hundred seventy-two _GAC?_ He guesses so. And so he pulls out a hundred piece and starts rooting in his pockets for the rest of his money, when the clerk makes a choking noise.

 “Is that… _solid gold?_ ” the man gasps.

“Um. Yes?” Keith glances down at the 100 GAC piece in his hand. Is that unusual?

“What, you don’t have a credit card? Or cash? You just gotta… okay, uh, you gotta go over to the currency exchange. There’s a tiny kiosk outside to the right, it _should_ let you exchange your freaking _gold_ for actual money.”

Keith raises an eyebrow. “Credit card”? “Cash”? …”Hell”?

The cashier tells him he’ll hold on to Keith’s bags until he gets back, so he goes outside and finds the money-giving kiosk. The machine takes his GAC into a little slot and processes for several minutes before spitting out… a wad of cloth-y paper? It’s all green, with weird looking humans on it and… oh. He sees the Earth numbers in the corners. This must be Earth currency. He supposes this would make future exchanges a little easier.

He goes back inside and counts out the appropriate amount for the relieved cahier, then takes his bags and leaves before he can question him, like he obviously want to.

On the way back through the desert, he thinks he hears that strange purr-singing again, but it’s gone too quick for Keith to be sure it wasn’t his imagination.

When he gets back to the shack, he puts everything away, and looks at one of the boxes he’d gotten in the frozen area. It had looked interesting, and he recognized the word “cheese” but he had no idea what “mac” was. He supposed he would find out.

~*~

Keith discovers he loves mac and cheese.

~*~

The day of the entrance exam, Keith arrives at a large walled complex, a few hours (he’s trying to get used to Earth time measurements) away from the shack. The examiners give him pointed looks, as he is the youngest one there. But he isn’t very concerned. All the things they wanted to test the cadets on, he’d already studied with his dad and Kolivan. All he had to do was ace everything they threw at him.

The first test is a written exam, testing math and science knowledge. He finishes half an hour before anyone else, even after checking all his answers.

Then there is a physical, testing fitness. He runs an obstacle course along with six other potential cadets. It’s not very hard. Running a Blade obstacle course is much harder. They don’t even set anything on fire! Keith thinks it’s pretty lame.

Then, they take all of the cadets interested in being pilots to the flight simulator. Keith is the third one to go. It takes him a moment to locate the controls, but once he does, everything goes smoothly. Papa always said flying came as natural to Keith as breathing.

When he steps out of the simulator, the examiners’ mouths are wide open. Keith blinks at them in confusion, and then over to the other would-be pilots, who are equally stunned.

“What?”

“Dude,” one of them says. Keith is starting to hate that word a little. “You totally just beat the record.”

Keith raises an eyebrow. “What record?”

“The best simulation score we ever saw,” one of the instructors says slowly, “Was a few years ago, from a young man who is currently the best pilot we have. Honestly, we thought he was the best pilot we would ever have.”

“Until now.” Another one says, still staring at the monitor where Keith’s score is displayed.

Keith shrugs. “I’m a good pilot.”

Then he walks out into the waiting room.

An hour (roughly) later, he gets called in. He aced, well, _everything_. He’s getting a full scholarship to the Galaxy Garrison.

When he gets back to the shack that night (he can’t think of it as home, not now, not ever) he flops down on the bed and grins at the ceiling. He’s one step closer to getting off this planet and going home. All he has to do is get through this “schooling” and keep getting good grades.

He closes his eyes for a moment, only for them to spring back open. He’s going to be in a school. An Earth school. With humans. All day, every day. And he still has _no idea_ how to properly act around humans. Ever since that first day, he’s been avoiding it at all costs.

Keith whines in frustration and covers his face with his hands. “Oh, this is gonna be just _fantastic._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith is going to have a fun time. Can't you tell?  
> Ignore the improbability of Keith's solid gold currency going that unnoticed. Cashiers are rarely phased so I feel it's accurate.  
> It's great being back in this AU. It's gonna be interesting juggling this and Last of the Real Ones but I'll manage. I hope you guys are just as psyched as I am to get back into this!


	2. The Smile

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again! I'm glad you guys are excited to be back. Keith's gonna have some problems, he'll need the support. This is a little shorter than I like chapters to be but hopefully it's still acceptable.  
> Now, on to the Garrison, and Shiro!

Keith absolutely _despises_ the Garrison. He didn’t think he would ever find anything that would rival his loathing for the empire and the war, but here he was, wishing a very slow, painful death on the idiot who founded the Garrison, and everyone who worked in it. Especially the _imbecile_ that was Commander Iverson. That man wouldn’t know space if he was suffocating in the vacuum of it.

 The Garrison has so many rules, it’s a wonder cadets are allowed to do anything at all. They can’t leave the base. They can’t curse. They can’t be out of their dorms after nine-thirty PM. They can’t get angry, or cry, or hug their friends. They can’t _feel_ , it seems like.

And Keith is going insane.

He was raised to believe that one should never suppress their emotions. And not only that, but Galra are extremely social creatures, at least when they are allowed to be. But humans are not the same. They claim to be a social species, but they isolate themselves from anyone around them, and Keith is having to force himself to do the same. He can’t even risk talking to another person, for fear he will say something wrong and give himself away.

It’s slowly eating away at him. He can’t talk to his roommate or anyone in his classes. He cuts off his emotions on a daily basis in order to adhere to the Garrison’s strict rules. There are rumors circulating about him. They don’t know that he is aware of them, but he has better hearing than ordinary humans. He hears what they whisper about him when they think he can’t hear.

They call him “cold” and “antisocial”, an aloof golden boy who thinks he’s too good for anyone else. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Okay, yeah, he’s better than the other cadets, but that’s not their fault. They can’t help that their knowledge of the universe isn’t as broad as his is. He certainly doesn’t think he’s superior. Honestly, he doesn’t care about test scores. All Keith wants is to go home.

Really, he shouldn’t even care about these rumors, but hearing them, he can’t help but hate them. The image everyone here has of him is so far removed from who he truly is, he can barely recognize himself in the gossip.

And what’s worse? The gossip amongst the staff. That he’s “hotheaded”, and “bad with authority”. They call it a discipline issue. In truth, he can take an order (…when he wants to) but these people restrict everything that it seems like if he even _breathes_ wrong, he’s breaking another godsdamned rule. Between the staff’s idea of him being full of rage and the students’ idea of him having a superiority complex, pretty much every person in the complex hates him on sight.

The worst part? He can’t even really contradict them. For Galra, bottling up their emotions and isolating themselves doesn’t come without repercussions. The longer someone is isolated from their pack, or just others in general, the more violent they become. It’s a defense mechanism, his dad had told him. Galra are not solitary, they are used to having others to back them up. And when they don’t, they become over-violent to compensate.

It’s actually a tactic used by the empire, to make their soldiers more viscious. It’s why there are only ever a handful of live soldiers, even on a battle cruiser, while most of the crew are sentries. It’s so they’ll attack on sight, and without question, because their instincts are telling them to protect themselves.

All that anger needs an outlet in some form, but Keith doesn’t _have_ an outlet for it. He tried sparring, but he beat the shit out of so many people that they won’t spar with him anymore (it’s not his fault all his previous sparring partners were three times the size of the other students!). So now, he has no way to vent all the defensive rage accumulating inside of him. Combine that with his grief and homesickness, and he’s practically a ticking timebomb of tears and fury.

Keith knows that sooner or later, it’s all going to have to be released somehow. And it will probably happen at the least convenient time and place.

~*~

Well, he was right.

As he’s walking back towards his dorm one day, a kid in his class blocks him in.

“Excuse me.” He says, as evenly as he can manage.

The guy sneers. “What, you in a hurry, Kogane?”

“Yes. Please move.”

“Can’t wait to be away from all us ordinary people, right? Too good to suffer in our presence any longer?”

Keith’s jaw clenches. “I just want to go to my room. Please move. I don’t want any trouble.” Oh, but he does. He wants to tear into this asshole. Shove him against the wall and punch that disgusting smirk right off his face.

But, he can’t. He _won’t_.

“Too bad, you little bitch. You’ve been asking for trouble since the moment you set foot here.” The asshole sneers, then pulls his fist back.

It’s all too easy for Keith to duck, and the guy ends up punching the other cadet that was sneaking up behind Keith. The second cadet reels back, clutching his nose, and the first one snarls a curse, and tries to hit him again. Keith snaps, and ducks down, digging his shoulder into the guy’s stomach and yanking him up and over his head. The cadet lands on his back behind Keith, the breath punched out of him by the impact.

Keith whirls and snarls deep in his throat. Both cadets jolt and stare at him with wide eyes. Keith can feel his fur and fangs prickling beneath the surface, but he holds it down. He can’t shift here.

“You know what? _Fuck_ you. You have _no idea_ what I’m dealing with right now. You think that just because I’m good at this shit, I have an easy time? _Ha,_ I wish! I _hate_ this place, and I _hate_ all of you. But I can’t leave. And believe me, I want to, if only to be away from stupid, ignorant _jerkoffs like you!”_

The cadet has scrambled back to his feet during this tirade, and both are watching him warily. Good. Keith snarls again and takes a step forwards to... do _something_ , but suddenly there is a hand on his shoulder, gentle but firm, holding him back.

Keith blinks, and his eyes grow blurry. He’s about three seconds away from a meltdown, but he really doesn’t want to do it in the middle of the hallway. The hand on his shoulder tightens minutely, and then there is a voice in his ear.

“Come with me.” The voice is quiet and not demanding, and though Keith snarls again, he lets the owner of the voice lead him out of the hall and into an empty classroom. He is turned towards the person, and hands settle carefully on his shoulders.

“Take a deep breath. Come on, in and out.”

Keith takes in a ragged gulp of air. It comes out as a muffled sob, and the tears finally start to spill down his cheeks.

The person in front of him makes a small, concerned noise and the hands on his shoulders squeeze gently.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright. You’re alright.”

Keith chokes on another sob and leans forwards, burying his face into the stranger’s uniform shirt, shoulders shaking.

“Hey, it’s okay. Just let it out, that’s it.” The guy continues to soothe, hands coming to rest carefully on Keith’s back. Keith’s own fingers are gripping the guy’s shirt in a death grip as he continues to sob.

“I h- _hate_ this!” Keith chokes out. “I hate all of this! I am so _sick and tired_ of this void damned place, I just want to go _home!_ ”

The guy hushes him gently, and his arms tighten around Keith, allowing him to keep sobbing against his shirt.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Keith finally quiets, and his shoulders stop shaking. Even then the guy continues to hold him. It’s… more contact than he’s gotten since he left home. He didn’t realize how touch-starved he’d truly been until right this moment.

“Are you okay?” The guy finally murmurs.

“No,” Keith says honestly, voice raspy from crying. “But I’m better. Thanks.” Keith pulls back so he can actually look at the guy he cried all over.

He’s an upper classman, judging by his uniform. He’s got short-cropped black hair with one longer tuft hanging in his eyes, which are slate-gray. He’s… not bad looking. For a human.

“I guess I can call that a success.” The guy teases, smiling gently.

Keith laughs weakly. “I guess I should apologize for breaking down on you.” He says awkwardly. He’s still not used to having to apologize for his emotions.

The guy shakes his head. “It’s no problem. I’m Shiro, by the way.”

Keith nods. “I’m Keith. Keith Kogane.”

Shiro’s eyes widen. “Oh, I’ve heard of you. You’re the one who broke my flight sim record during the entrance exam!”

Oh, Shiro must be short for Shirogane. The golden boy of the Garrison that everyone compared him too.

“Yeah, that was a thing. That I did.” Keith says uneasily. Will he be mad that he broke his record? Other cadets get angry when he surpasses them.

“That’s pretty impressive. I know I was impressed when I heard about it!” Shiro says, tone light and animated, and scent pumping out an odd mix of concern and curiosity. So, he’s not angry then.

“From what I hear, you’re an amazing pilot. I’d hate to see you drop out just because you get too stressed out.” Shiro continues. “I know it’s hard living up to everyone’s expectations. So, if you ever feel overwhelmed like that again, or if you just need to talk, come find me, okay? I’m a good listener.” Then Shiro smiles, a soft, gentle thing, and Keith blinks up at him.

“I… yeah, I’ll do that.”

“I know it’s hard, and I know you probably feel frustrated, but just remember: patience yields focus. You’ll get through this.”

Shiro’s hands come to rest on his shoulders again, squeezing gently, then he starts to walk past Keith and out of the room. Before he can, Keith speaks again.

“You aren’t like most humans I’ve met.”

Shiro turns back to face him with a raised eyebrow. “Most _humans_ , huh? Does that mean you’re not?” He’s smiling again, so Keith knows he means it as a joke, but he still curses internally, then sighs.

“It feels like I’m not.” Keith says honestly.

Shiro’s expression softens. “Don’t worry. You’re going to be alright. And remember what I said: If you ever need anything, come find me.”

And then he walks out of the room. Keith peeks out to watch him walk down the hall and raises an eyebrow.

Takashi Shirogane, huh? He doesn’t seem like any of the people Keith’s met here on Earth so far. He has to admit, he is very intrigued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gentle, helpful, optimistic Shiro is the best. Bless him. Keith is angsty but he'll start feeling better soon.  
> I'm heading to an Anime Convention this weekend so I may not post on Sunday but I'll endeavor to try! In the next chapter we get a look inside Shiro's head to see what he makes of this strange but intriguing new cadet.   
> Have a lovely weekend!


	3. The Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello. Con was fun (I got a lot of Voltron stuff. Like, so much. And some Sheith stuff!!) but tiring. I did manage to throw this together for you guys though, and it's on time!  
> I'm glad Part 2 is already being received so well! Here's hoping you like this foray into Shiro's perspective.

Ever since Keith’s breakdown where he’d cried into Shiro’s shoulder, Shiro starts seeing the young cadet a lot more. Namely, at the table Shiro usually occupies in the library. The day after the incident, Keith had plopped down in the chair opposite him and had leaned his head on his crossed arms, looking at Shiro curiously.

“Hello, Keith. Is there something I can help you with?” Shiro had asked.

Keith had shrugged, and Shiro had gone back to studying.

It became a routine after that. Keith would show up and occupy the other chair at the little table. He never says much more than a greeting to Shiro during these afternoons. The younger cadet just watches him, or sleeps, or brings his own study material. He supposes Keith is just happy being around someone.

He’s heard the rumors. He knows that pretty much everyone in the Garrison has some weird prejudice against Keith, but Shiro’s never put stock into gossip around here. He’d rather discover how things are for himself, and so far, he finds that Keith is a relatively quiet boy, but wicked smart. He’s caught Keith reading the advanced engineering books as well as the flight manuals he has to read for class. And he knows that Keith continues to impress in the simulator.

All in all, Keith is extremely talented, just like rumor suggests. The other half of the rumors, that Keith is antisocial, well, Shiro doesn’t buy it. Not after what he’d witnessed the day he’d met the younger cadet. He figures that Keith just isn’t good with people, but he obviously dislikes being alone, or he wouldn’t come to sit with Shiro every day.

The first time he and Keith really have a conversation is about a week after Keith starts hanging around the library with him. He looks up from his book and his brow furrows.

“Hey, Shiro,”

Shiro glances up, startled. He’s spoken to Keith before, but the other boy has never really spoken back. This is a first. “Yeah?”

Keith opens his mouth, closes it again, glances down with a furrowed brow. He sees Keith circle one wrist with the fingers of his opposite hand and relax minutely, before he looks back up at Shiro. “Do you have any family?” He asks quietly.

Shiro blinks rapidly for a moment, then “I, yeah. I have a pretty big family, actually.”

Keith smiles carefully. “Tell me about them?”

Shiro is wondering where this came from, and then he remembers. Keith had said he wanted to go home, when he had his breakdown. He must be feeling homesick.

“Well, I live in a huge Japanese-style house. It is big enough that my entire extended family all lives there. That may seem a little weird, but we all like being close to each other. As for who all’s in my family, there’s my mom and her siblings, my dad and his siblings, all their kids, my paternal grandmother, my siblings and me.” He rubs the back of his neck. “It can get kind of crowded, but I like it that way. I like being surrounded by family.”

Keith is grinning. “I know exactly what you mean. I grew up… similarly. What’s it like having siblings? I’m an only child.”

Shiro huffs a laugh. "I have two sisters and a brother. Me and my brother are twins, and my sisters are twins too. My mother is still confused as to how it happened. There are no other twins in our families.”

Keith perks up. “Twins? Identical or fraternal?”

Shiro laughs again. “Identical, both sets. Mom was particularly miffed about that. She used to label me and my brother so as not to mix us up. She had to do the same with my sisters.”

Keith laughs.

“What about you, Keith? What’s your family like?” Shiro prods. Maybe talking about them will help Keith not miss them so much.

Keith shrugs, but he’s smiling gently. “I have four fathers.”

Shiro’s eyes widen. “What??”

“Well,” Keith says, leaning back. “Five if you count my birth father, but he died when I was really little. He and my mom both. Papa, my mom’s twin brother, became my legal guardian. But he was grieving for a long time, so for those first few months I was raised by his doctor, who is the one I actually call Dad. They eventually ended up together. Then their boss and the second in command also ended up partially raising me, so, yeah.” Keith shrugs again.

“Wow, that sounds like a soap opera.” Shiro says honestly.

Keith’s nose scrunches up. “A what?”

“A tv show with a multitude of overlapping, convoluted plotlines.” He says.

“Ah, well. Yeah, I guess. But I don’t care how weird it sounds. I love my dads. I miss them.”

Shiro’s expression softens and he reaches across the table to grip Keith’s hand. “I know. I miss my family too. But you can go home and see them during break, right?”

Keith shakes his head. “No. I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“My dads…” Keith hesitates, gripping his wrist harder, then says, “They’re all in the military. And they’re… they’re doing something really dangerous right now. It’s in part why they sent me way out here. They didn’t want me to be in harm’s way. And I get why, I do, but… I have no idea how long it will be before I see them again. I can’t even _talk_ to them.” He finishes weakly.

“Ah, they’re under a no-contact order?” Shiro winces in sympathy. He knows that Commander Holt, his friend Matt’s father, is constantly on no-contact missions.

“Yeah, that’s it.” Keith mutters. “I just… before now, I’ve always had them to rely on, you know? And now… I just feel so lost. And so alone. I’ve never been alone before, Shiro. It’s really scary.”

Shiro tightens his grip on Keith’s hand. “You aren’t alone, okay? I’m here, whenever you need me. I promise. I make a personal point to never let my friends feel alone.”

Keith looks up at him, blinking tears out of the corners of his eyes. “We’re friends?”

“Yeah, we are. So don’t worry, okay? I’ll make sure you aren’t alone.”

Keith smiles, and makes a strange, almost purring sound in the back of his throat, before his eyes widen and he coughs briefly. “I, uh, thank you, Shiro. I really appreciate that.”

Shiro raises an eyebrow but decides not to comment. “Sure, any time, Keith.”

~*~

“Keith, why do you never eat?” Shiro sighs, sitting across from Keith in the cafeteria. After their talk in the library, he’s started dragging Matt over to sit with Keith at lunch. Fortunately (or not, depending) Matt and Keith seem to get along very well (“He kinda reminds me of Papa,” Keith had told him).

Keith scowls up at Shiro, then glances down at his nearly empty lunch tray. “I eat,” he grumbles.

“Hardly,” Matt snorts, sitting next to Keith and nudging the scowling boy with a shoulder. “Dude, you only ever get, like, an apple. Or soup, or something. What gives?”

Keith sighs and lets his head smack onto the table, mumbling something under his breath.

“What was that?”

“I said,” Keith huffs, sitting back up. “The food here is _gross_. An- uh, Dad Number Three would always cook for us at home. Nothing here even comes _close_ to his cooking. It’s all too bland or just… ugh, gross.”

Shiro has noticed Keith never says his dad’s names, which he supposes is so he can insure they remain uncompromised in whatever assignment they’ve undertaken. He calls them Dad, Papa, and Dads Number Three and Four.

Shiro tilts his head. “What would he cook for you?”

“Uh,” Keith’s brow furrows. “All sorts of shit. He made most of his recipes up himself.”

Shiro hums. “Well, what kind of food do you like?”

“Uh oh, here comes Mom Friend Shiro.” Matt mutters, grinning.

Keith shrugs. “I like all kinds of stuff. I would literally eat anything put in front of me as long as my dad made it. But I guess, I like spicy or salty foods the best. And, well,” Keith grins. “I have a major sweet tooth. But Dad will never know that, or he’d eat Dad Number Four alive.” He snickers, clearly at some fond memory.

“Oaky,” Shiro says, nodding. “I can work with that.”

Keith gives him a confused look, and Matt snorts.

“Oh now you’ve done it, Keith. You’ve unleashed Shiro’s Inner Mom. We’re all doomed.”

“I don’t get it.” Keith says bluntly, and Shiro smiles.

~*~

The next day, he sets a bento box down in front of a very puzzled Keith. The younger boy raises an eyebrow and pokes at the colorful box, then glances up at Shiro.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a bento.” Shiro shrugs and opens his own, pointedly ignoring it when Keith leans over to see what’s in his. Matt shows up a few minutes later.

“Trying to inhale Shiro’s lunch, string bean?”

“I still don’t know what that means.” Keith says absently, sniffing at the food in Shiro’s lunch curiously before leaning back and opening the one Shiro had given him.

“It means you’re super fucking skinny, like a string bean.” Matt rolls his eyes, then pouts at Shiro. “What, I don’t get one? Shiro, you wound me.”

Shiro sighs and pulls out a third bento, handing it to Matt, who perks up. “Yessss, Shiro’s cooking!”

Keith chokes on air. “You made this?”

Shiro shrugs. “You said you hate caf food and are used to homecooked stuff.”

“I, well, yeah.” Keith seems hesitant for a long moment, looking between him and Matt suspiciously, before seemingly relaxing. “Thanks.”

Keith takes his fork and prods at the rice for a moment, before taking a forkful of it and the salmon and lifting it to his mouth. He chews for a long moment, then his eyes widen, and he perks up. “This is good.”

“As good as your dad’s?” Matt teases, inhaling his own food.

“Well, no, but nothing will ever be as good as his cooking.” Keith says, like it’s obvious. “But, this comes pretty damn close. Thank you, Shiro.” Keith beams at him and Shiro quickly looks down, fighting down a blush. Keith is too cute.

“I didn’t want you to starve.” He mutters, and Matt elbows him.

“Aw, string bean, you got him all embarrassed.”

Suddenly, a hand grips Shiro’s, and he looks back up to see Keith smiling at him again. “Seriously, thank you. It means a lot to me.”

Shiro sighs and squeezes Keith’s hand. “Anytime.”

~*~

A few weeks later, Shiro ambushes Keith outside the flight simulator on a Friday evening.

“Come with me.” He says to Keith’s questioning noise that sounds weirdly like a bird chirp, and drags the young cadet out of the room and towards the dorms.

“Shiro wha-?” Keith starts, but Shiro hushes him and stops in front of Keith’s dorm room.

“Go get changed, and hurry.”

“I-”

“Go on.”

Keith huffs but disappears into the room, emerging fifteen minutes later in his favorite red jacket and civvies.

“Great, let’s go.” He grabs Keith’s wrist again and pulls him down the hall, out of the building and towards the garage.

Keith’s eyes widen when they stop at Shiro’s hoverbike. “Wow, that’s nice.”

Shiro shrugs and tosses Keith the spare helmet. “Hop on.”

Keith makes an indignant noise but climbs onto the bike behind Shiro.

“Shiro, seriously, what’s going on?”

“Just trust me.”

“Shiro,” Keith whines, but Shiro cuts him off.

“Patience yields focus.”

“I’m not sure this is the best instance to use that.” Keith sighs, but wraps his arms around Shiro’s waist when he prompts him.

“Hang on, we’re running a little late.”

“Late for wha-”

The rest of the word is lost in a yelp as Shiro speeds out of the garage and out of the Garrison complex.

“I thought we couldn’t leave the base??” Keith whisper-shouts in his ear.

“I got permission, don’t worry. Just keep hanging on, okay? We’ll be there soon.”

Keith growls under his breath but doesn’t say anything else.

About twenty minutes later, Shiro pulls up in front of his house.

“Come on, they’re expecting us.”

Keith groans but follows Shiro up to the door, standing hesitantly next to him as he knocks. When the door opens though, Keith’s jaw drops.

“Takashi!” Ryou says cheerfully, pulling his twin into a hug. “You’re late!”

“Sorry, Keith’s sim ran over.”

“There are two of you.” Keith says haltingly, making Ryou laugh.

“Nah, Takashi’s the smart one, I’m the pretty one.” He teases, then holds out his hand. “You must be Keith. I’m Ryou Shirogane, Takashi’s twin brother.”

“Hi,” Keith says slowly, still very clearly caught off guard, but he shakes Ryou’s hand.

“Come on in! The girls are so psyched to meet you.” Ryou says, then disappears down the hall.

“I apologize in advance for my sisters.” Shiro says, laughing at Keith’s puzzled expression. “Also, if you would, take off your shoes and leave them here in the foyer.”

“You brought me to meet your family.” Keith says quietly. Shiro sees him grip his wrist again. He seems to do that a lot when he’s nervous.

Shiro frowns. “Well, yeah. I know how much you miss yours. I thought a family dinner would cheer you up a little.” A thought hits him. “I’m sorry, did I overstep? I know I probably should have warned you, but I wanted to surprise you-”

Keith wraps him up in a hug before he can finish rambling. “Thank you, Shiro. I, this means more to me than you can ever know.”

Shiro relaxes and wraps his own arms around the boy. “You don’t need to thank me. Now come on, we should get inside.”

~*~

Mio and Miki pounce on Keith as soon as he makes it inside, but he seems to take it in stride.

Shiro’s mother starts fussing as soon as she lays eyes on Keith. “Well I see what Takashi was talking about; it’s obvious you haven’t had a good homecooked meal in a long time! You’re so skinny!”

Keith had opened his mouth, probably to say that’s just how he _is_ but then Shiro’s father is shaking his hand and his grandmother is telling her son to translate for her because she solely speaks Japanese and his aunts and uncles and cousins all want to meet “Takashi’s new friend”.

Shiro is worried Keith is going to be overwhelmed, but, when he looks, he realizes Keith has never seemed more relaxed. Shiro supposes it makes sense. Keith had mentioned since his entire family was military, he’d grown up on a military base with a bunch of other people, who he considered to be like extended family. Keith was used to all this activity, had probably missed it.

Dinner goes well, and Keith is quick to say he feels almost like he’s back with his family.

“Eating with people, and having food that is homecooked, it feels like home.” He says quietly. “So, thank you all for having me over.” He’s gripping his wrist again, but he seems… happy.

Sachiko waves her hand dismissively. “Oh please. You are my son’s friend, and so you are family. There’s no need to thank family for having you over.”

For some reason, this statement makes Keith fidget nervously and look down. Shiro can see the tops of his ears turning pink. It’s adorable, but confusing. Why is this embarrassing?

Before Shiro can ask, Daichi Shirogane places a hand over his wife’s that is still on the table and smiles at Keith. “Please feel free to come over whenever you want, with or without Takashi.”

“Gee, thanks, Tou-san.”  Shiro sighs, but grins at his father in thanks.

Keith makes that strange purring noise again, quietly, so probably only Shiro can hear it where he’s sitting next to the other boy. “Thank you.” he says again. And Shiro hopes that now he’ll feel a little less homesick.

They leave after dessert and the promise that they’ll come over on a semi-regular basis. Shiro goes to start the bike, but he’s stopped by arms wrapping around his waist from behind. He turns in the circle of Keith’s arms and hugs the other boy back.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I just… thank you so much for this Shiro. I really needed it. I’ve felt so lost and alone for so long, and now I… thank you. You make me feel like I’m home again.”

He feels something wet against his neck and panics, tightening his arms around Keith. “Hey, hey, it’s okay, don’t cry Keith, please.”

“It’s okay,” Keith murmurs. “They’re good tears.” He feels Keith’s nose press into his neck, and the younger cadet inhales deeply, sighing against his skin, and then he bites down gently.

Shiro jolts, but it hadn’t hurt. He was just startled.

“Sorry!” Keith says quickly and pulls back, looking up at Shiro. “That’s just… something I do. It’s a, well, a comfort thing. I’m sorry.”

Shiro shakes his head and sets his chin on the top of Keith’s head. “Don’t worry about it. You just startled me is all.”

Keith whines, but nods.

“And Keith?”

The boy blinks up at him slowly, the corners of his eyes still wet. “Yeah?”

Shiro lifts a hand to thumb the remaining tears away carefully. He doesn’t know how he never noticed before, but Keith’s eyes are a rich shade of violet, and they’re mesmerizing.

“You don’t have to thank me, okay? You’re my friend. I’d do anything to make sure you’re happy.”

Keith laughs quietly, pressing his forehead against Shiro’s shoulder. “You know, I’ve never really _had_ one of those before. I was the only kid on the base growing up, and everyone there was my family. So, you’re kind of the only friend I’ve ever had. But if this is what having a friend is like,” he looks up at Shiro properly. “Then I’m very, very glad that I have you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of you know the movie Summer Wars, then you have the general idea of what I'm envisioning the Shirogane household to function like.  
> I loved making Shiro's family. I almost want to write a whole separate story for them.  
> The next chapter has more Shiro POV, with Keith telling him about his fathers (without dipping into the whole "they're seven to eight feet tall and purple" territory).  
> Might not update LOTRO tonight because I tire, but I will at least start editing the chapter. In any case, have a lovely start to your week everyone!


	4. The Desert

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! I don't have much to say here except I hope you like it!

“Keith, what are you doing?” Shiro asks as he walks into Keith’s dorm.

The cadet looks up at him curiously. “I’m…sitting?”

Shiro looks up at the clock, puzzled. “Your class starts in twenty minutes and you’re not even in uniform!”

Keith frowns. “But Professor Montgomery said we’d start class in thirteen hundred hours!”

Shiro looks at him with a raised eyebrow. “She said _at_ thirteen hundred hours. That’s one o’clock. How do you not know military time? You grew up on a military base!”

The younger boy winces and looks away, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, well, my dads used a… different form of time measurement.”

Shiro raises his other eyebrow. “It sounds like your fathers had a completely different language.” Between the time, some food he’s heard Keith talk about, and some _science_ terms he’s heard Keith mention, it sounded like Keith’s fathers created their own form of military language.

Keith laughs shortly. “Yeah, well. My dads are weird.” He hops up and shoves Shiro back out the door. “Well I’d better get ready for class then! See you later Shiro!”

The door hisses shut behind him and Shiro shakes his head fondly. Keith is a strange person, Shiro has learned that in the six months he’s been the boy’s friend. Growing up on a military base must have been a lot more isolated than Shiro had thought, because Keith doesn’t seem to know how to interact with people _at all_. He’s far too touchy with people and doesn’t seem to grasp basic social etiquette. He and Matt don’t mind; they know it’s just how Keith is, and he’s their friend so they don’t mind Keith hugging them out of nowhere. And Shiro’s family has come to learn that’s just how Keith is, especially after he spent Christmas break with them (and Keith had had _no idea_ what Christmas was??). But everyone else…

There have been many occasions, like the first one he found Keith in, where he’s had to de-escalate a tense situation because someone got pissed by Keith’s weird habits and lack of social graces.

Shiro gets the feeling it’s more than just his lack of socializing with people growing up that causes the rift between Keith and the rest of the world. But of course, he would never pry into it. If Keith doesn’t want to explain, Shiro will just have to keep mediating for him, but he hopes Keith does tell him eventually. There is something big he isn’t telling Shiro, something that is really bothering him. Hopefully he’ll decide to tell him sooner rather than later.

~*~

Keith bursts into his room early one evening in March, looking like he’s about to flip his shit.

“Keith?” He asks, sitting up, letting his book drop to the floor.

“I need to get out.” Keith chokes. He looks like he’s on the verge of a panic attack. “I need to get out _right now_.”

Shiro stands slowly. “And go where?”

_“Anywhere but here_. _”_ Keith whines deep in his throat, sounding like a caged animal.

Shiro steps forwards, wondering how to calm Keith down before he starts hyperventilating, then, remembering Keith’s version of self-comfort, reaches out and circles his fingers around Keith’s wrist. The younger cadet gasps, but Shiro can see some of the tension bleed out of his shoulders.

“Please, Shiro. Please, I need to get out.”

“Okay, okay, come on.”

Shiro takes Keith down to the garage and gets them out of the base on his hoverbike. Keith’s near choking him with how tight he’s holding on, but, as they get farther away from the base, he feels the boy’s arms gradually loosen into a less crushing force. He forgets sometimes just how strong Keith is, despite his slim figure. He’s had Shiro on his ass pretty much every time they ever spar. When asked how he got that good, the boy just shrugged and grinned.

“My third dad is fucking enormous, and he was the one who taught me how to fight. They made sure that I could take him down, so I could take down everyone smaller than him.”

Shiro is pulled back to the present when Keith’s lips press against the shell of his ear. “Make a left.”

Shiro suppresses a shiver and tilts the bike to the left. Keith continues to give him directions until finally, they come to a tiny wooden shack in the middle of the desert. Shiro stops the bike and feels Keith hop off. Shiro turns off the bike and follows the boy up to the front door. To Shiro’s surprise, Keith pulls out a key and unlocks the door, heading inside and collapsing on a bed in the corner of the small two room building.

Shiro sits on the couch opposite the bed and looks around curiously. “Keith?”

“This was my dad’s.” Keith mumbles, turning his head to look at Shiro. “My birth dad, I mean. He and my mother… they lived here. This is where I was born, and… I guess, where I spent the first year and a half of my life.”

Ah. Shiro doesn’t really know what to say to that, but he thinks Keith wants him to say… _something_.

“Do you remember your birth parents at all?”

Keith shrugs and turns to lie on his back, looking up at the ceiling. “A little. I remember being carried, and being hit in the face with long, dark hair.” He smiles gently. “I remember a voice with a thick accent. A, Texan, accent? My birth father had a very distinct drawl.”

“What happened to them?”

Keith sighs. “Mom died in the line of duty. She was shot and bled out. It… it took her a while to die. I know that. My dad had lung cancer. For a long time, Dad and Papa were _terrified_ I would have it too, but so far, I’m in the clear. Dad tests me, or, tested me, at least twice a year.”

Keith seems to be relaxing more the more he talks, so Shiro decides asking more questions is a good call.

“So, I know you can’t tell me much, but what do your dads do in the military?”

Keith smiles. He loves talking about his fathers, Shiro knows. “Dad is a doctor. He’s the CMO on base, and _wicked_ smart. Not only does he know how to deal with a person’s body, but also their mind.”

“He’s a psychiatrist too?”

Keith’s brow furrows. “Not, exactly? But he definitely knows how to deal with the trauma of the soldiers.”

“PTSD.”

Keith glances over at him. “What?”

“That’s what that trauma is called. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.”

Keith hums. “Yeah. Sounds right. He’s also very knowledgeable in the field of biomedical engineering. My dad is the smartest person _ever_.” He says fondly.

Shiro whistles. This guy sure does sound like it.

“And, Papa-”

“He’s the one who’s biologically your uncle, right?”

“Yeah, my mom’s twin brother. He’s… well, I guess you’d call him a spy. Or a saboteur? He’s extremely charismatic, so he can get people to trust him easily. Most of the time he’s an asshole, but that’s just around us. Dad says he’s the best damn soldier they’ve ever seen.”

Shiro nods. “And your other dads?”

Keith grins. “Dad Number Four is in charge of the base. He tries to act all grumpy and surly, but he’s actually a huge softie. He used to _hate_ kids before I came to live there, and then, well.” Keith snickers. “But all jokes aside, he’s an amazing strategist, and the main reason most of our people make it back alive. Dad Number Three is his second in command. They’ve known each other for half their lives, so they’re super in sync. When I was really little, I thought they could read each other’s minds.”

“Your third dad is the one who taught you to fight?”

Keith laughs and sits up, swinging his legs around to set his feet on the floor. He grips his own wrist again, rubbing his thumb over his pulse point slowly, smiling. “Yeah, he and Papa, but he was the one who was really in charge of my training. They started when I was eleven, and by the time I was thirteen I was able to finally knock him over.” He seems very proud of this. “Which was a big deal for me. He’s a mountain, immovable. But I beat him. I only ever did it the once, but it was one of the best days of my life.”

“Was it really so hard?”

Keith gives him a deadpan look. “He’s the biggest person in the entire universe. No one can beat him. Ever. So yes.”

Shiro raises an amused eyebrow. “Sounds like he’s pretty impressive.”

“Yeah, he’s awesome. He also has this insane notion that I’m some sort of perfect being, but that’s just because he’s biased.” Keith snorts, waving his hand dismissively.

Seems to Shiro like that bias goes both ways.

“You seem like you’re feeling better.” He says instead of voicing that thought.

Keith blinks, then he seems to realize what Shiro means, and looks away. “Yeah, I guess. Thanks, Shiro.”

Shiro leans forwards and places a hand on Keith’s knee carefully. “You wanna tell me what got you so upset?”

Keith sighs and picks up Shiro’s hand, nuzzling his wrist absently. Shiro has gathered this is a thing Keith does regularly.

“I just… I hate that place so much sometimes.” Keith murmurs eventually. “It’s so oppressive. It feels like if I stay there much longer, it’s going to smother me. I’m not used to that feeling.” Keith sighs, and his breath ghosts over Shiro’s wrist.

Shiro closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, then looks at Keith again. “Shouldn’t you be used to that though? I mean, you grew up on a military base. A military base that was _run_ by two of your fathers.”

Keith shakes his head and pulls away from Shiro’s hand, although he keeps his own hand wrapped tight around it.

“Our base wasn’t like that. My dads always told me we were all a big family. We were encouraged to be open with each other. You get to know someone, you’re more than likely willing to die for them. And we were. We were all willing to die for each other. And the Garrison doesn’t act like that at all. They force us all to turn into little robots who don’t care, who don’t _feel_.” Keith spits the word out.

“My fathers always told me to never hold back my emotions. If I was angry, I should allow myself to be angry. If I wanted to cry, I should cry. If I wanted to hug them, then I should, because feeling was nothing to be ashamed of. They said bottling up emotions didn’t do anyone any favors, that it was more than likely to all bubble up later, at the worst possible time, if you didn’t deal with it. The Garrison isn’t even _close_ to any of what I’ve been taught all my life.”

“I understand.”

Keith’s head jerks up. “You do?”

“Of course I do.” Shiro shifts their hands so he has his fingers around Keith’s wrist. He still wonders why this calms him down, but as long as it works, Shiro’s not going to ask. “I don’t think it’s good to keep things in. Your fathers were very right in that regard. And I am much more likely to fight and die for someone if I care about them. I think your fathers’ methods are a lot more useful than the Garrison’s ‘conceal, don’t feel’ bull.”

Keith tilts his head, brow furrowing. “Did you really just make a Frozen reference?”

Shiro stares at Keith in shock, and then bursts out laughing. “You, you’re telling me you don’t know what a string bean is, but somehow, you know _Frozen?”_

Keith shrugs, pouting. “What? I like old Disney movies. Papa would watch them with me when I was little.”

Shiro shakes his head, still laughing. “Keith, you will never cease to surprise me, will you?”

Keith grins, and it looks almost rueful. “Believe me when I say, you have _no idea_.”

~*~

Shiro stays with Keith in the shack for several more hours, just, talking. They move to the roof at one point, so they can stargaze. It’s so easy to see the stars out here in the desert.

“I can’t wait to get up there.” Shiro sighs, looking up at all the glittering points of light. “I bet there are a thousand worlds we don’t know anything about. And I want to see them all.”

“You will, Shiro.” Keith says quietly. “You will.”

Eventually they climb down. They have to be back before morning after all, but before Shiro can climb on the bike, Keith wraps him in a tight hug, biting his shoulder gently.

“Thank you for staying with me, Shiro.” He murmurs, bumping his nose against Shiro’s neck.

Shiro reaches up with one arm to wrap around Keith’s waist while the other cards through his hair gently.

“Of course. You’re-”

“Your friend.” Keith finishes. “I know. I just, you always seem to know just what I need and when. I, just, thank you Shiro.” Then Keith pulls away and leans up to kiss Shiro’s cheek.

Shiro immediately goes beet red. “K-Keith!”

Keith jumps, then whines quietly. “I’m sorry, was that one of those things I shouldn’t do?”

“No, no,” Shiro says weakly, running a hand through his hair. “It’s, fine. But friends don’t really… kiss each other.”

Keith frowns. “But I just kissed your cheek. It’s not like I kissed you on the lips or anything!”

Oh and doesn’t _that_ just give Shiro an image.

“True, just… don’t try that on anyone else, okay? Not even Matt.”

Keith tilts his head. “Anyone _else_ , so does that mean I can do it to you?”

Dammit.

“I, yeah. Sure.”

Keith beams.

Oh god this boy is going to kill him.

~*~

“Happy seventeenth birthday, Keith.”

Keith turns away from his book and blinks at the small bag that is being dangled in front of his face. He’s sitting in the spare room of the Shirogane house – “ _Your_ room,” Sachiko had insisted – two weeks into summer break. He’s staying with the Shiroganes during the break as Shiro had said he didn’t want Keith to be all alone over the summer.

He glances up from his chair to Shiro’s grinning face.

“You got me a present?” He asks, reaching out to take the bag from Shiro.

Shiro shrugs and sits down in the seat opposite him. “I missed it last year.”

“You didn’t know me until after my birthday last year.”

Again, Shiro shrugs and gestures to the bag. “Open up.”

Keith chirps, but tears away the tissue paper and pulls out the soft leather underneath, holding them up for inspection.

“Gloves?”

“They’re for sparring. I know you’re a little more durable than most, but you still bruise when you hit hard enough. I thought these might spare you the pain.”

Keith chirps again and tugs them on, flexing his fingers and watching the leather pull.

Shiro grins. “Good, they fit.”

Keith stares at his hand for another minute, then launches himself over his desk so he can wrap his arms around the older man.

“Keith be careful not to break-!”

“Thank you.” Keith murmurs.

Shiro’s mouth clicks shut, then he sighs and wraps his own arms around Keith, who purrs in content. Shiro is so warm.

“You’re welcome. Ka-san and my aunts are planning a huge dinner tonight to celebrate, with all your favorites.”

Keith purrs louder. “Yeah. Sachiko’s cooking is great.”

Once Shiro leaves the room, he sinks down onto his bed, staring at his gloved hands. Then he starts shaking, for multiple reasons. Yes, his best friend gave him a present, which is awesome, but the context surrounding it… Shiro gave him something to shield his hands. Shiro cares about his well-being, is trying to protect him.

He may not be trying to court Keith, but with this, it almost feels like it. Keith should probably be more concerned about that than he is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no, the feelings. Be careful, Keith, they might lead you to tell Shiro things you shouldn't...  
> Which is exactly what happens in the next chapter: Shiro learns the truth! See you all on Sunday and have a fabulous rest of your week!


	5. The Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! Have Keith telling Shiro about the Galra and himself and his dads.

Keith has never been more uneasy in his life. Being on Earth was nothing like what he thought it was going to be. Everyone was so reserved and, well, angry. They all seemed so angry. Especially in the Garrison. But Shiro… Shiro was _good_.

Ever since he met the older cadet, nearly a year ago now, Shiro has been nothing but kind and understanding. Keith knows he slips up sometimes. He really doesn’t know how to be “human”, but Shiro is always there to point him in the right direction, and he never judges Keith for his obvious lack of knowledge. Even better: he never questions it.

Shiro is truly his best friend. And okay, he may only have three (he had met Matt’s little sister Katie during the Garrison’s Spring Break, and the two of them had hit it off really well), but Shiro is the one who is constantly there, right by his side, and never ever judges him for being different. The older pilot is more than just a friend now, he is _pack_. And Keith is getting really damn tired of lying to the person he cares about most on Earth.

If his dads knew what he was getting ready to do, they’d kill him, but they aren’t here, and besides, they’re the ones who decided to send him to Earth with no backup. So he’d just have to find his own.

“Hey, Shiro,” Keith says, knocking on Shiro’s bedroom door.

“Come in!”

Keith slides the door open and peers into the room. Shiro’s childhood bedroom is just as neat as his dorm room. He spots his best friend typing on his computer, not even bothering to look up as Keith crosses the room and drapes himself over the older pilot.

“Shiro,” He says slowly, nuzzling into Shiro’s neck, scenting him lazily. Shiro smells warm, and relaxed. A slight curl of curiosity bleeds in as he directs his attention towards Keith.

“What’s up, buddy?”

“Can you take me out to the shack? I’ve got something I want to show you.”

Shiro frowns, scent fading from curiosity into gentle worry.

“Are you okay? You sound a little… off.”

Damn him for noticing. Shiro may not be able to read scent like a Galra, but he’s damn good at picking up on emotions anyway. He pulls away from Shiro and stands up straight, his fingers wrapping around his wrist and squeezing. It’s still a poor replacement for Antok’s tail, but it works well enough.

Shiro sees the action, and his frown deepens, worry spiking. “Keith?”

“I’m fine, just, please come with me, okay? It’s important.”

Shiro is still frowning at him, but he nods. “Yeah, okay. Let me grab my keys and tell Ka-san we’re going out.”

Shiro grabs his keys from the hook next to his door then he and Keith find Sachiko in the kitchen.

 _“Ka-san, Keith and I are going out for a little while.”_ Shiro says in Japanese. The Shiroganes typically only speak their native tongue at home but have refrained from that habit since Keith came to stay with them. Keith is busy trying to teach himself so they won’t have to compensate for him anymore. So far, he can understand quite a bit.

“ _Alright, but be home in time for dinner.”_ Sachiko says absently, chopping a carrot for the stew she’s making. “ _Ryou! Come in here and help me!”_

Somewhere deeper in the house, Shiro’s twin groans.

Shiro smiles, amusement spiking sharply. “Come on, let’s go.”

~*~

They get to the shack before noon, and when they get inside, Keith drags Shiro over to the couch and sits next to him, fiddling with the other’s long fingers.

“Keith, what’s going on? Are you alright?” Shiro asks again, fingers tightening around Keith’s, stilling his hand.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m…” Fuck it. “No, actually, I’m not alright. I’ve been holding back the truth from you, and it’s eating away at me.” He looks up at Shiro. “You’re my best friend, Takashi.” It’s the first time he’s ever used Shiro’s first name, and the older pilot is visibly surprised. “You’re my best friend, and I can’t lie to you anymore. What I’m about to say is going to sound totally insane, and you are never going to look at me the same way afterwards, but please listen to me.”

“Keith,” Shiro murmurs, reaching up to tuck a stubborn strand of hair behind Keith’s ear. “I could never think any differently of you. You should know that.”

Keith barks out a laugh. “Believe me, you will.” He takes a deep breath, and then without preamble says “Shiro, I am not human.”

Shiro’s brow furrows and he opens his mouth but Keith holds up a hand to stop him.

“No, really. Well, I suppose I should say I’m not _completely_ human, my birth father was human, but my mother was from a species called the Galra. And I can prove it.”

Keith takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, feeling the shift overtake him. He feels fur sprout along his skin, feels his ears elongate, feels his claw tips brush against the back of Shiro’s hand. When he opens his eyes again, he knows he’s looking at Shiro with solid yellow eyes.

Shiro’s eyes are wide, and Keith can’t tell if he’s breathing.

“See?” He says shakily, and feels his ears fold back against his skull. “Not human.” He looks down and lets go of Shiro’s hand, gripping his wrist again, trying to keep his breathing even.

“There’s a war going on. Across the entire universe. Ten thousand years in the making. The Galra empire is trying to conquer every world, every free people. But not all Galra fight with Emperor Zarkon. There are some of us who hate what our species has become. They formed a resistance thousands of years ago, and they – we, are called the Blade of Marmora. My mother was one. She crashed here on Earth when she was running from an empire scout ship. She met my dad, and they had me. The first Galra-human hybrid.”

Keith looks out the window and watches the desert sand shift. “The empire found her, and she ran, with me and my father. But she got shot, and my dad was already sick, and they knew they weren’t going to make it. So my mom sent the ship to the Blade of Marmora headquarters, where my uncle, my papa, was. He and Dad and Antok and Kolivan, my Dads Three and Four,” he smiles as he says it. Kolivan would probably be mildly insulted to be number four. “They raised me. Taught me about the empire, and the war, and why we fight. They taught me to fight, and to fly, and how to survive in the universe as we know it.”

He swallows thickly, still refusing to look at Shiro. “And while I grew up knowing that anyone I knew could leave one day and never come home, I knew I was in a place that I was safe. Because my dads love me. And then the empire captured someone who had the coordinates to our base. A fighter pilot, Korval.” He chokes on the name. It still hurts, knowing Korval is dead. “And my dads knew the base could be compromised. So they sent me here, to keep me safe.”

Keith’s claws dig into his wrist harshly, and he growls. “I was forced to leave my home, and my family. Leave them to fight a battle they may not have won. All I’ve wanted to do ever since I left is get home. It’s why I joined the Garrison. I figured it was my best bet. But, I, I have no idea if there’s a home to go back to. And I’m _scared_ and _alone_ and I just… I am so tired of trying to hide who I am. Especially from you.”

He finally looks up at Shiro, eyes wide and ears pressed flat against his skull, terrified of what he’s going to see on his friend’s face.

Shiro’s face is a blank mask, and all Keith can smell is the saline of his own tears brimming in the corners of his eyes. Finally after a long moment of silence, Shiro reaches for him and Keith shuts his eyes, only to chirp in surprise as he’s tugged forcefully into Shiro’s chest.

“Shi-”

“Thank you for telling me.” Shiro murmurs, tightening his arms around Keith. “I’m honored that you trust me with this. Your secret is safe with me, I swear.”

Keith whines low in his throat and buries his face in the crook of Shiro’s neck, finally letting himself shake apart.

“It’s okay, Keith. I’ve got you. You’re alright.” Shiro whispers, rubbing Keith’s back as he hiccups against the older cadet’s skin.

“Thank you, Shiro.” He chokes out.

“I’ve told you before,” Shiro says, fondness thick in his voice and scent, “You don’t need to thank me for being your friend.”

“This is more than that though.” Keith mumbles. “You just found out I’m not human and you’re just… okay with that. I can’t tell you how scared I was you were going to hate me.”

“I told you, I could never think differently of you.”

Keith pulls back, scowling up at his best friend. “That was _before_ you knew I could actually _look different_.”

Shiro barks out a startled laugh, and Keith growls playfully, biting Shiro’s shoulder.

“So that, that’s a Galra thing.” Shiro says, still giggling.

“The biting? Yeah. And the scenting.”

“The thing where you smell my neck or wrist?”

“Yep. Galra feel calmer after scenting and being scented by a packmate. It’s also a way to read another person’s emotions more clearly. I can always read your emotions, it’s just clearer if I scent you.”

Shiro raises an eyebrow, but he’s amused. “I’m not sure what I should address first: the fact that you’re apparently constantly aware of what I’m feeling, or the packmate comment.”

Keith’s ears, which had gradually lifted once he realized Shiro didn’t hate him, now snap against his head again. “I, well, yeah. You’re my best friend. Obviously, you’re pack.”

“I’m guessing that’s a big deal.”

Keith shrugs, looking out the window again. “Our packs are our families. You are family. I care about you, Shiro.”

“Well, humans don’t really have packs,” Shiro says quietly, “But I consider you to be family too. I care about you too, Keith.”

Keith grins and nuzzles into Shiro’s neck again, purring so hard his chest aches.

~*~

Going back to the Garrison is easier this time. Shiro understands now why Keith acts the way he does (because he literally doesn’t _know_ human etiquette) and so is able to cover for him a lot easier.

“He grew up on a small island off the coast of China.” Shiro tells people. He doesn’t understand, but it’s apparently a good reason why he doesn’t know how to handle… people.

Shiro is also a lot better at handling his bottled-up emotions. When a cadet pushes him too far, Shiro can drag him off to the gym and spar with him until Keith works out all his anger.

“My back doesn’t appreciate it, but the rest of me is glad I can help.” Shiro tells him, then winces. “Okay, maybe the rest of me is pretty unhappy too.”

“Sorry,” Keith whines, nuzzling Shiro’s neck, “but you have to remember I’m used to fighting opponents that are literally twice your size! And Antok is _three_ _times_ your size!”

The other thing is that Shiro can tell when he’s about to shift and can call him out on it.

“Keith, _purple_.” He hisses one day in the middle of the cafeteria, as a cadet tries to knock him over.

Keith growls but allows Shiro to tug him out of the room and into an empty one.

“You know, it’ll be pretty hard to cover for you if you turn purple and fuzzy! That is not something I can explain away, Keith!” He says after he closes the door behind them.

Keith growls again and digs the heels of his hands into his eyes. “I know! I know. I’m sorry.”

Shiro sighs and tugs one of his hands away from his face. “You need to learn to control your emotions. I know that’s a new concept for you, but I’m not always nearby. I don’t want to wake up one day and find out they’ve got you locked up and are running experiments on you.”

Keith stiffens. “Would, would they really do that?” He gets a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, and thinks of Zarkon’s witch.

“No,” Shiro says firmly, “because I will never let them. I won’t let anyone lay a finger on you, but just for my peace of mind, try to control it a little better? Please?”

Keith feels his face grow warm at Shiro’s near-possessive words and buries his face in the older pilot’s neck. “Okay.” He presses a kiss to Shiro’s skin, and Shiro jolts. Right, not a thing casual friends do. Whoops.

Shiro pulls back and looks down at him, scent a mix of pleased and embarrassed. He shakes his head and his scent evens out into it’s usual state of calm, and he smiles at Keith.

“Come on, let’s hit the gym. Kicking my ass a couple times will help you feel better.”

Keith snorts but lets the older pilot tug him out of the room.

He knows he’s said it before, but he is really godsdamned lucky to have Takashi Shirogane. He almost feels bad when he pins Shiro to the mat for the fifth time in a row, the older pilot grunting in discomfort. But then again, having a sweaty, shirtless Shiro beneath him is never something he can feel bad about.

Keith halts at that thought and quickly stands, walking over to their gear on the bench. Shiro. Shirtless. Panting beneath him and staring up at him with half-lidded eyes- _no stop shut up brain._ Where did that even come from?? Just because Shiro says things that sound like courting behavior on occasion and cause Keith’s heart to skip a beat doesn’t mean anything! He doesn’t think about Shiro like that. Shiro is his best friend. Sure, yeah, he’s hot. And kind. And smart. And knows everything about Keith and still cares about him and Keith has never felt this way about anyone before and it feels a lot like how Papa has always talked about loving Dad and there are the times where Keith kisses his cheek or neck and really,  _really_ wants to kiss somewhere else and…

Oh void, he is totally fucked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More than one truth came out in this chapter, huh? Oh, Keith.  
> We're halfway to being done with Part 2! Doesn't seem like that long ago I was saying the same about Part 1. But don't worry, there's plenty more to come after this.  
> Have a lovely week, you all, and I will see you in the next chapter for lots of pining, and friends encouraging the feels, and the Shirogane siblings being terrible wingmen, as promised.


	6. The Feeling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's my birthday, so as a present to myself, I'm updating a day early, with a chapter that's twice as long as normal. Have fun with pining, encouraging Holt siblings, talk of human sexuality, and annoying Shirogane siblings!

So, turns out Keith has a major fucking crush on his best friend. He groans loudly, burying his face in his pillow. Maybe he can just smother himself so he doesn’t have to think about Shiro and his kind eyes and gentle smile and

Gods _dammit,_ he’s thinking about it again!

He growls in frustration and pushes himself up, glancing over to the other side of the room where, thankfully, his roommate is dead to the world. He sneaks over to his closet and pulls out the little disk that contains the holopic he brought with him, and turns it on. An image of him and his fathers taken on his fifteenth birthday pops up.

“I wish you guys were here. You’d be able to tell me how to deal with this.” He sighs. “Well. Dad would. The rest of you are terrible with these things. Guess I know where I got it from.”  He laughs quietly. “I just… is this what it’s like, being in love with your closest friend? Because if so, I actually sort of get why it took so long for you to tell Kolivan.” He says, glancing at Antok’s image. “I don’t want to screw it up.”

He sighs again and stares at the picture for a little while longer. He wishes he could talk to them. But he can’t, and now he has to deal with this crush (that, to be honest, is probably more than a crush) all by himself. Is this the universe’s idea of karma? He helped all his dads get together, and now there’s no one to help him.

He turns off the disk a moment later, and crawls out of the closet, slinking under his covers and staring up at the ceiling. He has no idea what he’s going to do about Shiro, but he knows that whatever happens…

He is actually really, _really_ lucky his dads aren’t here to see it.

~*~

Shiro might have a small problem. He may, or may not, have a crush on Keith. A small crush. Almost non-existent, really.

Matt snorts beside him. “Oh please, your crush is the size of fucking _Jupiter_.”

Shiro groans and lets his head hit the table, the noise echoing in the near-quiet of the library. “I didn’t _mean_ to fall for him!”

Matt pats his back consolingly. “None of us ever plan to develop huge, ginormous crushes on our friends, dude. I sure didn’t. But sometimes it just happens.” Then he snickers. “Of course, most of us don’t end up falling for our friends who happen to be giant humanoid cats.”

Shiro sits bolt upright and stares at Matt in horror. “He, what? Keith’s… not a cat.” How the hell did Matt find out!?

Matt snorts. “He kind of is. He purrs and nuzzles you and bites at you and naps in sun puddles. He even hisses at things he doesn’t like! He’s such a fucking cat, dude.”

“Oh, yeah. Well.” Oh thank god.

“But seriously, Shiro. You are kind of head over heels for the guy. And he obviously thinks the world of you. Just tell him how you feel.”

“I can’t just say something like that out of the blue!” Shiro hisses. “He’s one of my best friends! What if he doesn’t feel the same way?? It could get so awkward!”

Matt raises an eyebrow. “I had a crush on you, told you, and we’re not awkward.”

Shiro sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “Yeah, but that was before we were really good friends. You’d known me for three months, and if I recall correctly, your crush lasted all of three days. And then you started crushing on Heather Maddison in your comm class.”

Matt sighs wistfully. “Ah Heather. She crushed my soul like a grape.”

“Keith and I… I’m his best friend, Matt. He trusts me with… a lot of stuff. I don’t want to make him think he owes me.” Shiro says, burying his face in his hands. “I could never burden him with something like this. He’s already going through too much, and I would do anything to lessen his troubles, not make them any worse.”

He feels Matt’s hand settle on his arm carefully. “This is more than just a crush, isn’t it?” he asks quietly. “You’re legit falling in love with him.”

“Yeah.” Shiro says weakly. “Yeah, I am.”

“Well,” Matt sighs, “shit.”

~*~

He hears the rapid footsteps before he hears the shout of his name. “Keith!”

Keith turns and wraps his arms around the girl before him, just as she throws her own arms around him.

“Katie!” He purrs, burying his face in her hair and scenting her briefly. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in school?”

She pulls away to grin up at him and shakes her head. “Nah, it was a half-day today. I got Mom to drop me off so I could have lunch with you! Oh, and Shiro too, I guess. And Matt.”

“I’m sure he’d be thrilled to know he’s last in your mind.” Keith snickers, and starts walking towards the cafeteria again, the smallest of the Holts in tow.

“Matt and Shiro won’t be here for a while, so you’ve got to deal with me for a bit.”

“Oh no, what a terrible fate.” The girl deadpans, walking behind Keith as he gets in the cafeteria line.

They grab their food and sit at an empty table. Katie tells him about an upcoming science fair she’s looking forward to and Keith tells her about his most recent sim, in which he’d broken another one of Shiro’s records.

“Of course you did. Careful, you’ll make him swoon with your prowess.” She teases, taking another bite of mac and cheese. Keith still loves the stuff, even if the Garrison’s version isn’t nearly as good as the stuff he’d first gotten.

Keith snorts and rolls his eyes. “Yeah, right.” He mutters, fighting the urge to fidget. But Katie Holt is a very observant human, just like Shiro, and she catches on to his unease.

“What’s up?”

“Nothing.”

She gives him an unamused look that reminds him of his dad, unnervingly so. “Keith.” Damn, she even says his name in that same “don’t-bullshit-me” tone.

“It’s nothing! Just, don’t say shit like that.” He mumbles. Shoving more mac into his mouth to avoid more talking.

“Shit like what? Shiro swooning?” She frowns for a minute, like she’s puzzling something out. “Keith,” She says slowly, “Do you like Shiro?”

Keith scoffs, feeling his shift prickle mildly under his skin. “Of course I like him. He’s my best friend.”

“No, you asshole,” She scowls up at him. “You _like_ him. Like, you have a crush on him.”

Keith says nothing. Which, of course, is as good as admitting it.

Katie grins, making Keith nervous. He’s learned that Katie Holt is as much a “little menace” as he himself is.

“I knew it.” Katie says quietly. “The way you keep looking at him, and the way you’re always clinging onto him, I just _knew_ it!”

“I cling on to you and Matt too!” he defends.

Her grin widens. “Yeah, but you don’t _kiss_ us.”

Keith chokes on his next bite.

“Yeah, I saw that time you kissed his cheek. He looked like a tomato and it was super cute. He definitely likes you too. Are you guys dating on the down-low?”

“No,” Keith huffs, not knowing what half those words are meant to imply, but he can guess. She thinks they’re courting.

“Why not? You’re _clearly_ interested in him.” She says, crossing her arms. “And Shiro’s obviously so far gone for you it’s not even funny. If you’re not dating now, you should be.”

“I… we can’t.” Keith says haltingly.

“Why the hell not?”

“It’s complicated, okay? But, Shiro’s just looking out for me. He’s not… _interested_ , in me, like you seem to think he is. He just indulges me because he knows-” _everything_ “-how I grew up. I’m used to physical comfort in a way most people aren’t, so he lets me cling to make me feel better. That’s all.”

Katie gives him a long look. “Bullshit.” She says finally. “You’re in love with him, and he’s in love with you. There’s nothing complicated about that.”

“You’d be surprised.” Keith murmurs.

“What’s this?” An unfortunately familiar voice booms from behind Keith, and he suppresses a groan.

“Commander Iverson, sir,” He drawls, turning to the human and giving a half-assed salute. “What seems to be the problem?”

But Iverson isn’t glaring at him, for once. He’s glaring at Katie. “What are you doing here, Miss Holt?”

“I came to visit my family?” Katie says, the “duh” is heavily implied.

“I don’t see Cadet Holt here. Commander Holt is off world.” Iverson sneers. “And last I checked, Cadet Kogane was not your family.”

Keith snorts. Humans, so caught up on blood relations. Who said you needed to share DNA to be family?

“Matt will be here soon, with Shiro.” Keith tells the man. “Katie’s just waiting with me until they get here.” He grins up at the man, knowing his abnormally sharp teeth make most humans uneasy. “I’m just being a good host, Commander. Doesn’t the Garrison want to present a good image to civilians?”

Iverson scowls at him (ah, that’s better, he didn’t like it when he was scowling at Katie) and huffs. “Carry on, _Cadet_.” He sneers the last word, likely to remind Keith of his place. Keith just grins wider.

“Yes, sir!” He chirps, letting a little bit of a growl slip in. Iverson suppresses a shudder of unease but cannot suppress the scent. He scowls at Keith one more time for good measure, then turns and walks away. He and Katie look at each other, grin, then turn and stick out their tongues at Iverson’s back in unison before bursting into laughter.

~*~

With the way Keith’s emotions are going haywire lately, it’s no surprise he nearly shifts in the middle of a classroom full of cameras. Some asshat who’s jealous of how well he does in sims shoves him into one of the modules and won’t let him get out, and all he’d wanted to do was to go find Shiro so they could go to lunch and now…

Keith is growling under his breath, and feels his skin start to prickle. He tries to hold it in, but he’s just so _tired_ of holding in his emotions all the damn time. He just wants to stop trying to hide who he is, even if just for one fucking _second_ …

The other cadet is sneering at him, and takes a step forwards, and suddenly, there is a hand on the guy’s shoulder and he’s being yanked out of the doorway.

“Keith, purple.” Shiro says gently, and Keith shuts his eyes.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Cadet?” Shiro barks at the asshole cadet then, while Keith tries to regain his composure.

Keith hears the guy stutter. “Senior C-Cadet Shirogane, sir, I-”

“I could get you court marshaled for harassment. Believe me, I’ve already done it to two other cadets who wouldn’t leave Keith alone.” Shiro says lowly, dangerously, and damn, Shiro sounds almost like a Galra. He’s protecting Keith, like a Galra would. It’s almost like he’s being cou-

Keith shakes himself. No.

“Now, get out of here.” Shiro is saying, and he hears hurried footsteps exit the room. There is a hand on Keith’s shoulder. “You okay?”

“I can’t,” he gasps, shaking. “Shiro I don’t think I can hold it, I’m just,” the prickling is getting more intense. Almost painful. He knows his eyes must be bright yellow, and he can tell his claws are already out; he can feel them scraping against the metal flooring of the simulator.

“Come on.” Shiro pulls him up and tugs him into a side room, away from the cameras that monitor the sim room. Shiro closes the door and turns to him. “Okay, come here.”

Keith whines and falls into Shiro’s arms, fur rippling out in a wave. “I hate it here.” He growls into Shiro’s neck, ears flicking back against his skull.

“I know.” Shiro murmurs, combing his fingers through Keith’s hair. Keith’s ear twitches, brushing against Shiro’s cheek, and the older man laughs. “You really are a cat.” He says fondly.

“Shut up, Shirogane.”

Shiro keeps holding him for several more minutes until Keith stops shaking. “Sorry.” He mutters.

“You don’t need to apologize. Why don’t we head to the gym and you can floor me a couple times? Let off some steam?”

Keith sighs, nods, and then surges upwards scrambling up onto Shiro’s shoulders. Shiro yelps and grabs Keith’s thighs. “Keith!”

“You’re not as tall as my dads.” Keith grumbles, situates himself on Shiro’s shoulders.

Shiro glances up at him with a raised eyebrow. “…You still ride around on your dads’ shoulders?”

Keith looks down with what Papa calls his imitation of Dad’s “done” face. “My fathers are seven and a half feet tall!”

“That’s fair.”

Keith snorts and shifts back, making sure there’s no more purple before urging Shiro out of the room and towards the gym.

Shiro dutifully carries him all the way there, ignoring the weird looks the other cadets send his way. Keith feels weirdly smug as he looks at them all, but not because of his height advantage. It’s not like any of _them_ have permission to ride around on Takashi Shirogane’s shoulders.

Oh void, he’s starting to feel possessive. Abort, _abort_.

They make it to the gym and Keith flips off Shiro’s shoulders, landing in a crouch. “I really am okay if you want to… not have me kick your ass.” He says as Shiro strips off his shirt. Oh gods.

Shiro shakes his head, tossing his shirt to the side and grinning. “If I don’t practice, how am I ever going to beat you?”

Keith raises an eyebrow but can’t fault him for his optimism. It was that same optimism that got _him_ to the point where he could knock down Antok. Only the one time, but still!

They weren’t _really_ prepared for sparring – they had no water or hand wraps with them, and Keith had left his gloves in his room – but as long as they don’t stay long they’ll be fine. He and Shiro circle each other for a few moments, then the older man swings, and Keith ducks, and off they go.

It ends roughly thirty minutes later with Keith running and jumping on Shiro, thighs wrapping around the latter’s head as Keith twists his upper body, sending both of them crashing to the floor, Keith on top. There is heavy panting for a few moments before Keith looks down and chirps in surprise when he realizes just _how_ they’re positioned. Keith is straddling Shiro’s upper chest, and the older cadet has a hold of his thighs. Shiro seems to realize how compromising this is in the same instant, and he looks up at Keith with wide eyes. Keith stops breathing. So does Shiro. Everything in the background fades to white noise.

Slowly, Shiro pushes himself up on his elbows and Keith slides down to his stomach, hands splayed on his bare chest. Keith sucks in a ragged breath. “Shiro?” He whispers, voice ragged.

Shiro closes his eyes, and Keith can feel him shiver. “Keith,” he says lowly, looking back up at him. “I-”

“GAY!” someone shouts as they enter the gym. Keith startles and jumps off Shiro, whirling around to face the doorway, crouching in front of Shiro protectively. A growl starts to build in his throat, but then a firm hand is grasping his shoulder.

“Easy, buddy. It’s okay.” Shiro murmurs.

“Right.” Keith snarls, and tries to force himself to relax.

The same cadet who’d interrupted them snorts, and his companion sneers at them. “God, they really are gay for each other. Too bad, Shirogane could do better.”

Keith’s brow furrows. “What’s ga-?”

“Come on,” Shiro urges, standing and pulling Keith up too. He grabs his shirt, sends a nasty look at the other two cadets, and leads Keith out of the room.

“What’s ‘gay’?” he whispers as they walk down the hall towards the room Shiro shares with Matt.

Shiro tugs on his shirt and glances down at him. “I’m kind of surprised you don’t know, given your dads, but maybe Galra call it something different. ‘Gay’ is another word for being homosexual, that is, being sexually attracted to the same sex you are. Male homosexuals are typically called gay, while females are called lesbian.”

Keith’s brow furrows, and he stops Shiro so he can climb back up onto his shoulders. This time, Shiro doesn’t protest, allowing Keith to settle before he starts walking again.

“You mean humans have a word for that?”

Shiro blinks and looks up at him. “Galra don’t?”

Keith shrugs and digs his chin into the top of Shiro’s head. “No. It sounds stupid to try and give a label to why you love who you love. What does it matter? If you love someone, then you love them. There’s no reason to explain the logic of _why_ you love the way you do.”

Shiro laughs. “Seems like even power hungry universal dictators handle love better than humans do. We’re still not totally okay with people who are not straight – the typical term for someone who is sexually attracted to the opposite gender.”

Keith frowns. “That sounds so stupid. Why would anyone care?”

“Religion, fear, ignorance, resistance to changes in social norms, take your pick.” Shiro shrugs, and they finally reach Shiro’s dorm. Matt isn’t there, and Keith immediately dives onto Shiro’s bed from his shoulders.

“It sounds terrible.” Keith says bluntly.

Shiro sits down next to him and reaches out to run his fingers through Keith’s hair. “It is. But like I said, we are better than we were a few decades ago. Back then, gay marriage had just become legal here and everyone was worse than they’d been in a long time.”

“Wait wait, it was _illegal_ to bond with someone of the same sex??”

 Shiro shakes his head. “In some countries, it was illegal to even have sex with someone of the same sex. The last country with such a law finally abolished it ten years ago. They are still not happy about it.”

Keith’s jaw drops. “What kind of backwards-ass planet is this!?”

“Believe me, sometimes I ask myself the same thing.”

Keith shakes his head, and then looks up at Shiro. “So what about you? Are you ‘gay’?” Why the void did you open your mouth, Kogane.

Shiro shrugs. “I’m pansexual. It means I care more about the individual person, not what sex they are.”

Keith nods. “That sounds more like what I’m used to.”

Shiro smiles and ruffles his hair, causing Keith to chirp in surprise.

“I’m glad space is more accepting of these things.” Shiro says, and Keith sighs, nuzzling into his neck.

“It isn’t about some things, but this? I’d say we’ve got Earth beat.”

Then Matt comes in and they all head for dinner. The weird electric tension he and Shiro had felt in the gym before being interrupted fading away to the background of both their minds.

For now.

~*~

Shiro doesn’t know how it came to this. He supposes it’s some form or karma. Or maybe his sisters are just horrible people. Who knows.

Keith was, of course, over for Christmas Break, just as he had been the previous year. And the tension between them was palpable. Shiro wasn’t sure if that tension meant Keith felt the same way he did, or if the younger pilot had just picked up on his nerves through his scent and was reacting to that. He was betting on the latter.

His family had picked up on it though. His parents, grandmother, and the rest of his extended family were staying well away from it. The only thing his mother had said was “It will work itself out, Takashi, don’t you worry.”

His siblings, however, would not leave well enough alone. Ryou was plenty bad, breaking into his room in the middle of the night and threatening him with twin forgery.

“If you can’t work up the nerve to tell Keith you’re in love with him, I can just do it for you!” His twin had said and walked towards the door.

Shiro had tackled him to the ground and explained, out of breath as they wrestled on his bedroom floor, how that would never work, because Keith was very good at telling them apart. Even without the scenting thing, Keith just, _knew_ when it wasn’t Shiro.

Keith had come in not five seconds later, raising an eyebrow at the two of them.

“And suddenly I feel like I’m back home.” He’d sighed. “Now I know how my dad felt dealing with Papa and my mom.”

Since then, Ryou has threatened to impersonate him on three more occasions, each time ending in them wrestling on the floor, and each time Keith finds them and sighs dramatically.

He had wondered why Mio and Miki were seemingly staying out of it but had just figured they were simply enjoying the show. He really, _really_ should have known better. He never should have let his guard down.

And that is how he ends up here, locked in a closet with Keith while his sisters giggle manically outside the door. He can even hear Ryou’s muffled laughter. He loves his siblings. Really, he does. But right now, he wants to murder them.

“Let us out, girls.” He says for the fifth time.

“Patience yields focus, Takashi!” Ryou coos.

Shiro groans. Leave it to his twin to throw his own words back in his face, with his own voice, no less.

“I’m going to kill them all and hide their bodies out in the desert.” He mutters.

“No you aren’t!” Miki calls through the door.

Shiro huffs and turns to apologize to Keith, and only then realizes the hybrid is freaking out. He’s shaking and looking anywhere but at Shiro, muttering under his breath. “No. No, nuh-uh. No.”

“Keith? You okay?” He asks slowly, reaching out to touch Keith’s shoulder carefully.

Suddenly Keith straightens with a loud “Nope!” and pushes Shiro away so he can approach the door, banging on it loudly with one fist. “No! Nope! Nuh-uh! I am _not_ doing this! I know where this leads! I did this to my fathers when I was seven years old, and I am _not_ letting it happen to me, _thank you very much!_ ”

Keith keeps pounding on the door as he speaks, harder and harder, until, with his last statement, he punches a hole through the door, and unlocks it from the outside, swinging it open and breathing heavily.

Ryou and the girls are staring at him in shock and mild alarm, as is Shiro.

“Um, Keith?” Mio says quietly.

“You okay, man?” Ryou asks, looking at Keith worriedly.

“Oh, I’m _fine_.” Keith hisses.

“Keith, you’re bleeding.” Shiro says, taking Keith’s injured hand. Keith just shrugs.

“I heal quick. You know that.”

“Still, let me bandage you up.”

Keith sighs, and seemingly calms back down. “Yeah, okay. Thanks, Shiro.”

“We’re sorry, Keith.” Miki says before they can leave the hallway.

Keith waves his non-bloody hand in dismissal. “Don’t worry about it.”

That night at dinner, Daichi asks why Keith’s hand is bandaged.

“Your kids locked me and Shiro in a closet and I broke the door.” Keith shrugs and takes a sip of his tea while the adults all stare at him. “Sorry about the door, though.”

It’s very quiet for a moment, before one of Shiro’s cousins, Hoshi, starts giggling, and looks over at Ryou and the girls. “You guys are in so much trouble.” She cackles.

Then Sachiko starts yelling in Japanese, and Keith looks quietly pleased with himself. Shiro can’t help but agree. Really, what were his siblings thinking? It’s not like that whole “locking two people in a closet until they confess” thing ever actually _works_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Shiro, you have no idea.   
> Hope you guys enjoyed whatever the hell this was. I'll see you next time for story time with Keith, talk of courting rituals, and some confessions.


	7. The Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello once more, my dears! Have story time, and awkward confessions, and, a kiss~

A few weeks later, the two of them are back out at Keith’s shack. Shiro has gotten really good at sensing when the younger pilot needs to get away from the Garrison and is always ready to get him the hell out of dodge. Keith very obviously appreciates it.

While they sit in the middle of the desert waiting for Keith to unwind, Keith tells Shiro stories. Either stories his fathers had told him, accounts of their various missions, or stories of when he was growing up. Keith is always willing to talk about his home life, especially now that he has no secrets from Shiro. And now, Shiro can ask the questions he’s always wanted to ask Keith. Like the wrist thing.

“Oh,” Keith had said, looking down at his fingers curled around his wrist. “Um, Antok has a tail. Pretty rare, for full-blooded Galra to have tails. I used to hold on to it when I was little. It was my security blanket. As I got older, Antok would wrap his tail around my wrist when I was scared or unhappy. It calmed me down, so now that I’m here… I do it to sort of mimic the feeling. To try and trick my brain into thinking he’s here, you know?”

God help him, Keith is absolutely precious. And the more he learns about his life, the more he wishes he’d been a part of it longer.

Right now, they’re sitting on the bed in the corner, backs pressed to the wall, staring up at small points of holographic light that map out the constellations around the Blade of Marmora headquarters. Keith had finished telling him about the multitude of months he and Kolivan had spent creating the map, and is now talking about his and Antok’s bonding ceremony, which is, as Shiro has learned, what a Galra wedding is called.

“And the whole time I was sitting under the head table, with this _giant_ pile of sweets. Kolivan kept feeding me cake.” Keith is snickering. “Dad was too busy trying to get drunk to notice. He’d been really nervous about having to do the ceremony. Even more nervous than I remember him being at his _own_ bonding ceremony!”

“When did they bond?”

“Dad and Papa? When I was almost four. You know, I’m inadvertently the reason they got together.” Keith says proudly.

Shiro raises an amused eyebrow. “Oh really?”

“Yep. Papa had been in love with Dad for a while, but because of me, they were spending every day together. And it just got so much worse for Papa, and Dad says he was resisting it, but he was falling in love with Papa too. And then one night, Papa came in when Dad was rocking me to sleep, and he apparently was so overcome by how sweet the scene was that he just blurted out ‘I’m in love with you’. Dad almost dropped me he was so shocked.” Keith snickers again. “And then Papa gave a long dramatic speech I can’t really remember, and then they kissed and nearly squished me.”

“You were an accidental matchmaker when you were three.” Shiro says, laughing himself. “That’s amazing.”

Keith’s smile turns smug. “I was a very intentional matchmaker with Antok and Kolivan.” He says evilly.

“Oh really?”

“Yep. I was trying for _months_ to get them to confess. I tripped them so they’d land on each other, locked them in an escape pod, all sorts of stuff. Then I finally managed to lock them in a tiny closet.” Keith’s grin widens. “And they finally kissed, so I let them out. And I still remind them just who it was that got them together.”

Shiro snorts. “You must have been an insufferably smug eight-year-old.”

Keith huffs. “There’s a reason Kolivan calls me their ‘little menace’.”

Shiro laughs, then remembers something. “Wait, is that why you flipped your lid when my sisters locked us in the closet?”

Keith coughs and looks to the side. “Yeah.”

Shiro should probably comment on that, but Keith looks so uncomfortable he decides it’s best to drop it.

“So, do Galra date before they bond?”

Keith looks at him, puzzled. “Date?”

“You know, spend time getting to know one another, in a romantic context. See if they’re compatible.”

“Oh! Yeah, we call it courting.”

Shiro raises an eyebrow. “Yeah? Humans used to call it that too, but that was when everything was a lot more formal. It included chaperoned visits and the couple were never left alone with each other.”

Keith’s brow furrows. “Yeah, our courting isn’t like that. It’s just like you said. Spending time together and seeing if you want to take it farther. People can court for a month and know they’re ready, or they can court for several years. It depends on the people, obviously.”

“So, do they have a term for people who are courting versus people who are bonded? Like, if you’re dating someone, you call them your boyfriend or girlfriend. And when you get married, they become your husband or wife.”

Keith nods. “If a couple has been courting for a long time and are really serious, they’re called mates, even if they haven’t bonded. It’s not until a bonding ceremony that ‘bondmate’ is used.”

“Do Galra only ever bond the once? Or can they bond to someone else if their partner dies? Or they get a divorce?”

Keith’s brow furrows. “Divorce… you mean like, breaking a bond?”

“Yeah.”

Keith shakes his head. “You can’t break a bond. The ceremony is just that, a ceremony. A mating bite is what really binds you to another person. And mating bites are pretty damn permanent. It’s why courting is a thing, and why no one judges if people court for years. If someone’s bondmate dies, it’s not like they _can’t_ bond with someone else, although it’s pretty rare. Most people are deeply loyal to their bondmate for their whole lives. Therefore, cheating isn’t really a thing either.” He tilts his head then, considering. “Of course, there are some bondmates who find someone else they love, but then they just have another bonding ceremony to add the third person.”

Shiro’s eyes widen. “You mean polyamory?”

Keith tilts his head. “Yeah, sounds right. When you love more than one person at the same time.”

“And Galra are okay with that?”

“Yeah. Are humans not?”

“They’re a lot better with other things, that’s for certain.”

Keith growls quietly. “Backwards-ass planet.”

“Tell me about it.” Shiro sighs, then perks up again. “So, what do people who are courting do? I’m guessing they don’t do dinner and a movie.”

“if you’re courting, not only do you have to see if you’re compatible, but also prove that you can protect and provide.” Keith says, almost like he’s reading out of a textbook.

“Uh huh.” Shiro hums, amused. “And how does one prove that?”

Keith shrugs. “There’s a lot of cooking for each other. It used to be hunting for each other, but, you know. We don’t do that anymore. So cooking it is.” Shiro suddenly recalls that Keith offered to cook dinner for him one of the nights they were on break, and how nervous his friend had seemed. And how flustered he got when Shiro made all those bento for him. He supposes he gets why.

Hm.

“You typically introduce your mate to your pack, if you’re not part of the same pack. And make efforts to get along with your mate’s pack by getting to know them. They’re going to be a part of your own pack, if you do bond.”

Like Shiro had introduced Keith to his family. And Keith blended in seamlessly, like he’d always been there.

“And of course, you protect each other from anyone who would dare to hurt your mate.”

Like when Keith starts snarling whenever someone teases Shiro. Or the way Shiro has gotten four people written up and demerited for bullying Keith.

“But mostly, you are supposed to be able to trust the other person with your life.”

Like Keith, telling Shiro about being Galra. About his family and not being from Earth. And how Shiro does as Keith asks, blindly, without ever asking why. Shiro’s heartrate picks up suddenly.

“So,” He says slowly, looking over at the other cadet. “Pretty much _exactly_ everything you and I have been doing?”

Keith freezes. “…um.”

“We’ve cooked for each other, my family _loves_ you, we protect each other… and we trust each other with our lives.” He raises an eyebrow. “Is that about right?”

Keith is shock still, and suddenly, he floofs out very purple and very fuzzy. Shiro knows Keith shifts to look Galra when his emotions go out of control, but he doesn’t think he’s ever seen it happen so suddenly. He can’t help but laugh.

“Shut up.” Keith mutters, looking anywhere but at Shiro.

“Oh my, Keith, have you been stealth courting me?” Shiro snickers.

Keith groans and buries his face in his hands, whining. “OH MY GODS SHIRO.”

Shiro laughs again and tugs Keith until he’s sitting in Shiro’s lap, face buried in his neck. “Hey, it’s okay.” He says fondly, running his fingers through Keith’s hair. “You know, if that is what you’ve been doing… I wouldn’t mind.”

Keith’s fur fluffs up. “…oh.”

Shiro hums, and carefully tugs Keith up so he can look at him properly. He can tell he’s blushing, even under the fur.

“I, uh. I wasn’t… trying to.” Keith mumbles. “But… I wanted to.” He looks up at Shiro finally, bright golden eyes trained on him unwaveringly. “I _want_ to.”

Shiro carefully cups Keith’s face in his hands, stroking his fuzzy cheek with a thumb. “I want you to.”

Keith swallows and leans forwards, pressing their foreheads together, ears flicking back to lie flat against his hair. “Shiro, can I court you?”

“Yes.” Then Shiro tilts his head forwards, and kisses Keith Kogane.

Keith gasps against his mouth, but then his arms are sliding around Shiro’s neck and he leans into him, sighing quietly.

Shiro could kiss Keith forever, he thinks. He feels a quiet purr rumble in the hybrid’s throat as he kisses him, and Shiro hums in return, pulling back to see Keith, eyes still closed, looking completely blissed out.

Keith’s eyes finally flutter open, and his ears fold back against his skull. “Okay, so, that’s a thing that happened.” He says quietly.

Shiro huffs a laugh, then reaches up to rub the downy purple velvet of one of Keith’s ears. Keith resumes purring and tucks his face into Shiro’s neck.

“That was my first kiss.” He murmurs against Shiro’s throat.

Shiro glances down in surprise. “Really?”

Keith hums, curling up into a tight ball in Shiro’s arms. “Yeah. There was no one my age on base growing up. I told you that you were my first ever friend. And besides, my dads are the most overprotective quartet of individuals in the universe.”

Shiro quirks an eyebrow and leans his head back against the wall. “Why do I get the feeling that if I meet your dads at this point then I am going to die?”

Keith laughs and bites his shoulder. “Maybe just a little.”

Shiro sighs. “Oh well. Worth it.”

Keith pulls back again and kisses him briefly. “I’m glad.”

Shiro presses their foreheads together again and closes his eyes, sighing quietly. “I wish I’d done this months ago. In the gym.”

Keith chirps questioningly. “So it wasn’t just me.”

Shiro laughs. “Keith, you were practically straddling my face. I had a very hard time not shoving you into the floor and taking you apart.”

Keith makes a strangled noise, and then kisses him again. That’s pretty much all they do, for the rest of the evening.

That night, when they get back to the Garrison, Keith does not go to his room. He follows Shiro to his, and pretty much refuses to leave.

“Keith-”

“Nope.”

Shiro sighs and rolls his eyes fondly. “Alright, get in the bed.”

Keith chirps happily and crawls under the covers, Matt looking at them both in confusion.

“Why is Keith staying over? And why is he sleeping in your bed?”

Shiro shrugs and takes off his shirt, climbing in after Keith. The hybrid hums happily and nuzzles into Shiro’s chest, pressing a kiss to the patch of skin over Shiro’s heart.

Matt falls out of his bed. “You guys are dating!!” He whisper-shouts. “Holy shit! Finally! Katie and I have been choking on all the sexual tension!”

“Shut up, Holt.” Keith mutters, already half-asleep.

Shiro shrugs at Matt’s half gleeful, half accusatory look. “We’ll talk in the morning.” He says, and then turns off the light, wrapping his arms around Keith tightly.

A moment later, Keith starts purring in his sleep.

Shiro smiles and closes his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, sweet, and to the point. Now, I have a question for everyone: who else is flipping their shit about the upcoming season?? I swear to god I'm gonna die. I've already driven the people around me insane with my angsty squealing. Let's hope the writers don't kill us, yes?  
> Anyway, see you Wednesday for cute courting stuff. ;)


	8. The Room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Random fluff ahoy. I need all the fluff in preparation for S6. Hnng.

Keith pretty much moves into Shiro’s room after that. Half the clothes in Shiro’s dresser are Keith’s, there’s a knife under the pillow (“What’s the knife?” “It’s my Marmora blade. All members have them. We are called the _Blade_ of Marmora for a reason.”), and a stuffed hippo on the nightstand (“A hippo?” “My birth father apparently got it for me before I was born. Her name is Kaagra.”).

Shiro isn’t bothered by this development, of course. In fact, he’s rather happy with it. Keith is a literal furnace, which is helpful during the cool desert nights, and it’s incredibly comforting having Keith right there next to him.

Matt moves out. He somehow convinced his dad to let him get a single. “I love you guys, but you’re in the beginning of the honeymoon phase. I just can’t be around that all the time. Ugh, sickening.”

Keith had punched Matt’s arm, but it is nice, in a sense. Having a single room. Well, maybe not so single. Keith almost never sleeps in his own dorm room anymore. He has also decided he doesn’t give a damn about PDA, and technically as long as they’re in common rooms, the instructors can’t do anything about it, which Keith takes full advantage of, sometimes very purposefully shoving Shiro against a wall and making out with him right as an instructor (usually Iverson, for some reason) enters the cafeteria. Shiro does have to admit, their expressions are pretty funny.

Another thing that happens after Shiro and Keith start dating (courting)? People suddenly realize Keith isn’t as standoffish as he seems. He’s just really, really awkward around people. Shiro still glares at the idiots who bullied Keith, but the other cadets who just hadn’t understood him have been coming up to the confused hybrid in droves to apologize.

As puzzled as Keith is, he’s a lot more relaxed now than he’s ever been in the Garrison. He doesn’t have to keep his guard up at all times, and Shiro is relieved to see it. He knows it was really hurting the younger man to have to keep his emotions in check literally every second of the day. And thankfully, he doesn’t get his ass handed to him as much when they spar either.

That may or may not be because they usually abandon sparring in favor of making out on the mat, but that’s neither here nor there.

He even manages to beat Keith once, by leaning in as though he were going to kiss his boyfriend before suddenly flipping them and pinning the squirming hybrid to the floor.

“That’s not fair! You cheated!” Keith growls, but then he giggles as Shiro peppers his face with victory kisses.

“There’s a saying here on Earth,” He hums, kissing Keith’s forehead. “All’s fair in love and war.”

Keith tilts his head, considering. “I suppose that’s accurate.” Then he drags Shiro down by the shoulders so he can kiss him properly.

~*~

One weekend, they are invited to the Holt’s for dinner. They usually go over about once a month, which always improves Keith’s mood. He and Katie are very close, and they hardly ever get to see each other.

As Matt leads them up to the front door, it is flung open by an excited thirteen-year-old girl. “Keith!” Katie shouts and jumps at the hybrid, who chirps happily and catches the girl in his arms.

“It’s so good to see you! Matt told me you and Shiro finally started doing the kissing thing. Thank god. I _told_ you to just go for it!”

“Well excuse us for wanting to take our time.” Keith snickers and buries his face in Katie’s neck. She, as well as Matt, have accepted that this is a part of Keith’s greeting routine. Keith had once told him that the Holt kids both have very calming scents.

“Your scent is warmth and safety.” He’d said. “Theirs is home and family.”

Katie releases Keith once he pulls away and drags him into the house, pausing to say over her shoulder, “Oh, hey Matt. Hey, Shiro.” And then disappears.

Matt sighs dramatically. “My sister loves your boyfriend more than she loves me.”

Shiro rolls his eyes and drags Matt inside, smiling when he sees Keith laying on the floor, Bae Bae (the Holt’s dog) licking his face enthusiastically.  Keith is giggling and Katie snorts, digging her finger into the jar of peanut butter in her hand and smearing it across the bridge of Keith’s nose. The terrier immediately licks it up, causing Keith to giggle more.

“Okay, that’s cute.” Matt says beside him, tugging out his phone and recording his sister torturing their friend.

“Shirooo,” Keith whines, still giggling. “Help meeee!”

“No one can help you now.” Katie intones seriously.

“She’s got you right where she wants you, string bean.” Matt snickers, tucking his phone away.

Then Colleen Holt comes out of the kitchen, Commander Holt following right behind her.

“Katie, stop torturing our guests with the dog.” Colleen says, shaking her head fondly. “Keith, go wash your face. Dinner’s almost ready.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Holt.” Keith giggles, and sits up, scratching behind Bae’s ears.

“Mother, you have interrupted my devious plans.” Katie sighs.

“Now that you’re done tormenting Keith with dog slobber, can I get a hug, Pidge?” Matt says, pouting and opening his arms.

Katie sighs. “Stop calling me that.” But she walks over and hugs her brother, then Shiro. “Sorry, Shiro. I like your boyfriend more than you now.”

“I am okay with that.” Shiro laughs, draping an arm around the girl’s shoulders.

Keith emerges with an un-slobbery face, and then they all sit down for dinner. Shiro can hear Katie and Keith giggling, and knows they’re having a foot war underneath the table.

“So, Commander, is there anything interesting going on in the research labs?” he asks Sam Holt, dutifully ignoring his boyfriend’s childish behavior.

Sam hums, then perks up. “Well, there’s murmurs going around about a new expedition!” He says cheerfully.

“What kind of expedition, Dad?” Matt asks, and the pair of giggling menaces stop and look up at Sam.

“Well it seems the Garrison Brass want to send a manned mission out to Kerberos!” Sam says, clearly excited. “Hopefully soon.”

“We’ve never made it out to Pluto before!” Matt says excitedly. “Man, that would be so cool.”

Shiro smiles, knowing that Pluto really isn’t all that impressive, considering what else is out there. He looks over at Keith, expecting to see the hybrid rolling his eyes, but instead, his boyfriend looks agitated.

“When is this supposed to happen?” Keith asks, quietly. No one seems to notice how weird he sounds except for Shiro, and by the frown on her face, Katie.

“Oh, not for another year or so.” Sam says pleasantly. And they all continue on with dinner. Afterwards, the three of them head back to the Garrison. Keith strips out of his clothes and into his pajama pants, but instead of joining Shiro in the bed, he crosses to the window and stares up at the stars pensively.

“You’ve been acting weird since the commander mentioned Kerberos. What’s wrong, baby?” Shiro murmurs quietly, standing and padding over to his bristling (quite literally, now) boyfriend.

Keith finishes turning purple and his ears flatten against his skull. Now that Shiro is close, he can hear the younger man growling quietly.

“I have a very bad feeling.” Keith rumbles out. “I can’t explain it, but I feel like I’ve heard the name ‘Kerberos’ before. And that, that worries me.”

Shiro frowns and wraps his arms around Keith’s waist, resting his chin on the top of the hybrid’s head. “I’m sure you’ve heard it in class before.”

“Yeah, but this feels like… something else.” Keith shakes his head sharply, then turns in Shiro’s arms, fur vanishing as he does so. “Come on, Takashi, we should go to bed.”

Shiro is led back over to the bed and shoved down into it, and then is covered by the living furnace that is Keith Kogane. He rubs his boyfriend’s back in small circles, smiling when he hears quiet purring.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah. Don’t worry about it.” Keith mumbles, and even though Shiro wants to push, he does as Keith asks, and lets it go, for now.

~*~

Keith jerks awake as the doors to the library bang open, and Professor Montgomery leads a group of soon-to-be cadets through. Keith growls and sits up, rubbing his eyes.

“Hello there, sleeping beauty!” Matt says cheerfully.

Keith growls at him, but it shifts into a purr when he feels Shiro’s fingers carding through his hair. “Those are the newbies?” He asks, tilting his head towards the group.

“Yes, they’ll be starting this coming year.” Shiro says, tugging Keith against his side. Keith hums and leans back against the older man, staring over at the cadets curiously. They all seem really excited, except for the big guy in the back. He looks… kinda like he’s gonna throw up. Another soon-to-be cadet tugs on his arm and starts talking very loudly, enough so that Professor Montgomery glares at him.

“Huh. Interesting.” Keith murmurs, then slides back down into Shiro’s lap and goes back to sleep.

~*~

“Hey, it’s your birthday tomorrow.” Shiro says, sitting down on the bed next to Keith.

Keith hums and leans back on his hands. “Yes, and?”

“I have permission for us to go off base and have dinner with my family, like last year. Ka-san is apparently planning something quite extravagant.”

“Knowing Sachiko, that doesn’t surprise me.” Keith says fondly.

Shiro shakes his head fondly. “She’s expecting us over at six. Your drills end at five-thirty, right?”

Keith snorts. “Officially, yes, but you and I both know I’ll be done before then. I’ll be back to the room by five-fifteen.”

Shiro reaches out and pulls one of Keith’s hands up to his face, kissing the back of it and grinning. “Then it’s a date.”

~*~

The door to the Shirogane household is flung open before Keith turns off the hover bike.

“Happy birthday, Keith!” The girls crow and throw themselves at him before he can get off.

Keith purrs quietly and wraps his arms around them in return, scenting them discreetly while Ryou approaches them from the house.

“Careful, Takashi, or the girls are gonna steal your boyfriend.” He says, dragging Shiro into a one-armed hug.

“They’ll have to fight Katie for him.” Shiro grins and loops his own arm around his brother’s shoulders.

“We could take her.” Miki says smugly, but they let go of Keith. They all head into the house and then down the hall to the dining area, which looks prepped to feed an army. Keith’s mouth waters. He still prefers Antok’s cooking, probably always will, but Shirogane Sachiko’s cooking is nothing to turn his nose up at.

Dinner is a lively affair, with lots of singing and congratulations, and Ryou trying to shove cake into Shiro’s face, only for Shiro to duck and have his twin hit Keith instead.

Both Shirogane boys apologize profusely (and wow, they have never seemed so similar) but Keith just shrugs and licks icing off the tip of his nose.

They stay the night, mostly because they _might_ have been drinking sake and Sachiko might have let that slide, but no way in the void was she letting them drive back. Shiro drags Keith back to his room and they fall into bed, exhausted.

“Remind me to not try to outdrink your brother again.” Keith murmurs, burying his face into the crook of Shiro’s neck.

Shiro’s fingers comb through his hair gently, making the hybrid sigh. “You did outdrink my brother.”

“Doesn’t mean I won’t hate myself a little bit in the morning. Ugh, I wish I was blood-related to Dad. He can drink for ages and not get drunk or hungover.” Keith sighs and headbutts Shiro’s shoulder gently. “Sleep. Time to sleep, Takashi.”

“We will. But before that, I do have a present for you.”

Keith hums in curiosity, only to hiss quietly when Shiro shifts below him, causing him to sit up.

“Takashi,” He mutters petulantly, watching Shiro dig in the bedside table looking for… something wrapped in white cloth.

Shiro rolls back onto his back and hands the small bundle to Keith, who takes it curiously. He unwraps it carefully and lets it drop into his hand.

It’s a flat, round stone, a little smaller than his palm, and it’s a murky, swirly green, with lines of lighter color shot through. Keith chirps curiously and turns the smooth stone in his hand a few times.

“What is it?”

“It’s jade. It’s commonly used in a lot of Asian countries for jewelry.” Shiro sits up and covers the hand that’s still fiddling with the stone. “I remember you said you collect rocks from different planets. And now, you have one from Earth. One that can remind you of the planet, and the people you’ve come to know.”

Keith chirps again and his fingers tighten around the stone. “You make it sound like I’m leaving.”

Shiro raises an eyebrow. “You are leaving, Keith. Not now, but eventually.”

Keith frowns. “It’s not like I’d never come back-”

“I know. But, now you have a piece of Earth to carry around with you. Like you have pieces of the base. It’s a reminder.”

Keith looks down at the green stone, running his thumb over the smooth surface once more, then leans forwards and kisses Shiro.

“Thank you.”

Shiro tilts his head so their foreheads are pressed together, and they sit there for a long time, just breathing in each other’s air until they finally fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys, announcement time: I'm not going to update for the next week. Season 6 drops on Friday and since it will (hopefully) clear up the clone Shiro versus plain-old-brainwashed Shiro controversy once and for all, I will be able to finally write ahead in my mostly canon compliant fics (AKA, the ones I currently have here on AO3). I probably won't update until next Sunday, though depending on life and the universe and the gods of writing, I may do next Wednesday instead. Either way, no updates this Sunday, but you probably won't notice anyway because S6 is going to kill us all.   
> With that being said, have a fantastic week, and I wish you all a swift recovery from whatever hell the upcoming season will put us through.


	9. The Mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have returned. Season 6 destroyed us then lovingly put us back together and it was the best thing in the entire world and Sheith is alive and well in 2018. Bless the VLD staff and voice actors for The Black Paladins, as well as the rest of this amazing season. And to celebrate, have the reason this fic is rated M!

Shiro and Matt graduate at the end of the year. As he crosses the stage, he hears Keith, Katie, and his siblings shouting and whistling. He glances up to the audience gathered and catches sight of the large group that makes up his family and sees the little cluster of very animated teenagers (and Ryou) waving at him.

After the ceremony, Shiro and Matt look for their families, only for Keith to find them first. Shiro feels a sudden weight collide with his shoulders from above and he grunts, barely managing to keep himself from dropping to the ground.

“Congratulations on getting out of this void-damned prison!” Keith chirps, wrapping his legs more securely around Shiro’s torso and settling his chin on Shiro’s shoulder.

“Where did you come from!?” Matt wheezes, having been just as startled as Shiro when Keith just dropped out of the sky.

Keith points up. “Roof.”

“Why the hell-” Matt starts, then shakes his head. “You know what? At this point I should just accept your weird crazy ninja skills.”

“Yes you should.” Keith purrs and nuzzles into Shiro’s neck, scenting him enthusiastically.

The Shiroganes and the Holts find them soon after, and they all go out to dinner in celebration.

When arriving back at the Shirogane household that night, Keith immediately shoves Shiro down on his bed and kisses him deeply.

“Congratulations,” Keith hums, biting his neck and causing Shiro to groan. “As much fun as the group dinner was, I’m about ready for a more private celebration, aren’t you?”

Shiro’s eyes widen and he stares up at his boyfriend in surprise. “You mean…?”

Keith rolls his eyes and leans down to kiss the tip of Shiro’s nose. “Yes, Takashi, I mean sex.”

Shiro blushes. “You can’t just say that!”

The hybrid giggles and tugs at Shiro’s shirt, somehow managing to get his uniform jacket off. “Why not?”

“I just, how can you say it so casually?” Shiro mutters, lifting up when Keith prompts so his undershirt can be removed.

Keith raises an amused eyebrow as he strips out of his own shirt. “My dad is a doctor.”

Fair point.

“Can we even do this?” Shiro asks as Keith ducks back down to kiss at his throat, his own hands sliding up Keith’s spine, even as he asks.

“How do you mean?” Keith murmurs, sucking a bruise into the underside of Shiro’s jaw.

Shiro gasps and yanks Keith back up so he can kiss him again. “I mean,” he pants against Keith’s lips, “biologically, are we capable of doing this?”

Keith raises an eyebrow. “You do remember how I came to be, right? Galra mom, human dad?”

Shiro can feel himself blush, and knows that even if Keith can’t see it in the dark (he definitely can) he can probably smell it. “I know but-”

Keith kisses him again. “Yes, Takashi. We are capable of doing this.” He nuzzles against Shiro’s cheek before adding: “Now, if it’s a question of _wanting_ to do this, then obviously, we won’t. Not if you don’t want to.”

“I want to.” Shiro says seriously, sitting up so that Keith is straddling his thighs. “I really, _really_ want to.”

Keith purrs and kisses him again, gentler this time. “I do too.”

The rest of their clothes are lost quickly, and Keith continues kissing down Shiro’s neck and chest, causing his breath to hitch. He threads his fingers through Keith’s hair and tugs lightly, causing the hybrid to purr in content.

“How are we doing this?” Shiro murmurs.

Keith shrugs and bites Shiro’s stomach. “Don’t have an opinion, as I have never done this before.”

“You,” Shiro looks down at Keith in concern. “You’re a virgin?”

Keith raises an eyebrow. “And that would be…?”

“Someone who’s never had sex before.” Shiro clarifies.

Keith shrugs again. “Yeah, that’s me. You’d think you would have guessed that from me saying I’d never kissed anyone before you.” He points out.

“I guess so.” Shiro murmurs. “But, normally people are more nervous about having sex for the first time.”

Keith slides back up Shiro’s body to hover over him. “I’m not a nervous sort of person.” Keith reminds him, smiling. “Dad made sure I knew what was what and that I should only have sex with someone I really care about. And I really care about you. I only waited this long because of your Earth laws saying I had to be eighteen.”

“Really?”

Keith nods. “Yep. Been planning this for a while.” He kisses Shiro’s forehead softly and then leans back again. “So, I don’t care how we do it. I just want to be with you.”

Shiro takes a shaky breath and nods. “Can you lie on your back for me?”

Keith chirps in assent and flips them. Thankfully at this point, Shiro is used to his boyfriend’s super-strength.

He leans over and rummages around in his bedside drawer, pulling out the bottle of lube he keeps in there and pouring some out onto his fingers.

“You’re okay bottoming?” Shiro confirms again. He’s never bottomed himself, so he figured for their first time, it would be better to go with what he knows.

“Bottom- oh, yeah, I’m fine being penetrated.” Keith shrugs, and Shiro’s blush returns full-force.

“Great. Just checking.” He mumbles.

“You are adorable and I appreciate the concern.” Keith purrs, adjusting himself against the pillows, then grabbing one and tucking it under his hips. “Okay.”

Shiro preps him carefully, watching the hybrid’s face for any sign of discomfort, but Keith merely purrs and wraps his arms around Shiro’s shoulders.

“I’m okay, Takashi,” he rumbles, tucking his face into Shiro’s neck. “I trust you.”

Shiro exhales shakily and presses a kiss to the side of Keith’s head. “I know, baby, I just don’t want to hurt you.” He scissors his fingers gently as he says it, making Keith sigh and go boneless in his arms.

“Mm, you won’t.” Keith murmurs, purr increasing in volume. He pulls back and opens his eyes, which are bleeding into yellow as Shiro watches. “Come on, I’m ready.”

Shiro withdraws carefully and spreads the leftover lube over himself before leaning over Keith and pressing their foreheads together.

“Good?”

Keith hums. “Good. Come on.”

Shiro nods, presses a kiss to Keith’s forehead, and slides in.

Keith gasps, arms tightening around Shiro’s shoulders, claws digging harshly into his skin. Wait, claws?

Shiro pulls back slightly, eyes widening in alarm as he watches Keith shift fully, ears pressing back against his skull. He’s trembling like a leaf, and his arms tighten even further around Shiro.

“Keith? Baby are you okay?”

“ _Yes_ ,” Keith sighs, and he starts purring again, letting Shiro know he’s not distressed. “It’s just… so _much._ ”

And Shiro’s blushing again, but he ignores it, leaning down to kiss Keith.

Keith hums into the kiss and opens his eyes, blinking up at Shiro slowly. “Move.”

So Shiro moves.

He rocks into Keith gently, holding him close, and Keith keeps making tiny pleased noises and nuzzling against his neck, nipping at the skin over his pulse point.

It’s different than anything Shiro’s ever experienced. The few times he’s had sex before it’s been hurried and messy and, while satisfying, there’s never been this kind of emotion behind it. It was all about getting pleasure as fast as possible, which, fine, Shiro got why, but he would have preferred to take his time. Apparently, he was the only one. But Keith, Keith is more than happy for Shiro to go slow, and kiss him, and murmur sweet nothings in his ear.

Because he loves him, Shiro realizes with sudden clarity. Keith loves him, and god, does he love him back. He loves Keith.

This isn’t just sex. Is this… is this what making love is?

Shiro kisses Keith again, deciding he’ll figure that out later. Right now, he just wants to feel the warmth of Keith around him, bright and beautiful and perfect in his arms.

As cheesy as it sounds, they come together, wrapped tightly in each other’s embrace.

Shiro slowly sits up, hissing as he slips out of Keith, who whines in protest.

“I’ll be right back,” He murmurs, kissing Keith’s brow before stumbling across the room to grab a hand towel. He doesn’t want to risk crossing the hall to duck into the bathroom, so he uses a water bottle to get the towel damp, wiping Keith down carefully. When he’s done cleaning himself up, he tosses the towel into his hamper and climbs back into the bed, where he is greeted by a very clingy half-Galra.

“Mm,” Keith purrs, nuzzling back into Shiro’s neck as he lays half on top of the bigger man, “That was… I don’t think I have the words. I know ten languages, Takashi, and I still don’t have the words to express what that meant to me.”

Shiro tugs the hybrid closer, nosing against one velvety ear and kissing it as it flicks against his cheek. “I know exactly what you mean.” He says. He trails his fingers along Keith’s back, and the younger man sighs in content. They lie there in the silence, happy and warm and safe in each other’s arms.

Several minutes later, Keith’s breathing has slowed, and his fur is receding back into pale skin, so Shiro assumes he’s fallen asleep. He continues tracing patterns on Keith’s skin as he stares up at the little glow stars he’d stuck on his ceiling when he first got his own room and smiles. God, he’s so lucky to have this. To have Keith.

“I’m going to miss you next year.” Keith mumbles, startling Shiro.

“I thought you were asleep.” He says quietly when Keith makes a questioning noise. “What do you mean?”

Keith shrugs a shoulder, not opening his eyes. “You’ve graduated. I still have a year left. You’re gonna go off to… somewhere, and I’ll still be stuck in the compound. It’s gonna suck.”

Shiro smiles softly and kisses the top of his boyfriend’s head. “Keith, I’m not leaving.”

Now Keith opens his eyes. He glances up at Shiro with a startled look. “What?”

“I’m staying on to teach some of the classes. I’ll even still have a room on base. I’m not going anywhere, baby. Not without you.”

Keith chirps quietly and tucks himself back into the crook of Shiro’s neck and shoulder. “That… that’s good. I’m glad.”

“I can’t believe you thought I would leave you.” Shiro says gently, kissing the top of Keith’s head.

Keith is silent for a moment before he whispers “Shiro?”

“Hm?”

“When I… when _I_ leave, will you come with me?”

Shiro’s eyes widen. “When you go home?”

“Yeah.” Keith shifts to look up at him with wide violet eyes that are once again fading to yellow. “I mean, you don’t have to. I know you love your family and you don’t want to leave them and I’m just _me_ -”

Shiro silences him with a kiss. “I would love to go with you.”

“Really?” He doesn’t think he’s ever heard Keith sound so small.

Shiro tucks a lock of hair behind Keith’s still human – if now slightly pointed – ear. “Really. Wherever you go, I’ll follow you. I love you, Keith.”

Maybe he should have waited to say it, but it’s true, isn’t it? And this seemed like a good time, with Keith so vulnerable and worried about his hesitant request.

Keith’s breath hitches, and then he kisses Shiro like he’s drowning. Shiro huffs as Keith shifts their positions, now laying on top of him, and swipes his tongue across Shiro’s bottom lip. Shiro opens for him easily.

After a few minutes, Shiro has to pull back to breathe and Keith moves to kissing his throat. “I love you too.” He murmurs. “I love you too, Takashi.” He sits up and his yellow eyes are shiny with unshed tears. “I want to show you the universe.”

Shiro tangles his fingers in Keith’s hair and pulls him down so he can press their foreheads together. “I wouldn’t want to see it with anyone else.”

Keith purrs again, and resumes kissing Shiro breathless, and it is several more hours before they finally sleep.

~*~

Going back to the Garrison is torture, like always, but knowing Shiro is still going to be there helps ease a tight knot of anxiety in Keith’s chest. He still hates it here. He still wants to go home, but… he has Shiro, and the rest of the Shiroganes, and the Holts. His pack has gotten a lot bigger since he landed on Earth. He purrs at the thought.

Someone yelps behind him and there is a thumping noise. Keith turns to see the cadet who’d looked like he was going to be sick when the new recruits came through at the end of last year. The guy was hard to forget. He’s massive and has mocha-colored skin (Keith had been fascinated by different human skin tones, but Shiro had managed to indicate very early on that commenting on skin tone was a Bad Idea). He also looks super nervous. He reeks of anxiety.

“I’m so sorry!” the guy says and kneels down to pick up the books he’d dropped. “I didn’t mean to bother you!”

The guy is clearly majorly stressed out, and Keith starts purring automatically to try and calm him down, slipping out of his chair to aid in picking up the dropped textbooks. “It’s okay.” He says, purr rumbling underneath his words. “Don’t worry about it. Are you alright?”

The guy nods hesitantly. “Yeah. I’m just-”

“Anxious.” Keith supplies, standing with the guy and handing him the rest of his books.

The guy laughs shakily. “Am I that obvious?” He shakes his head. “I never really wanted to join the Garrison, at least, not in the active reserves. But my friend somehow convinced me, and I guess I’m just freaking out a little.”

“It’s okay.” Keith repeats. “Hey, what’s your name?”

“Oh, sorry. I’m Hunk. Hunk Garrett.”

“Keith Kogane.” He holds out a hand (that’s what people in this situation do, right?) and Hunk takes it, shaking once.

“Nice to meet you, Keith.”

Keith tilts his head, considering. “Where is your friend?”

“I think he went off with some other fighter-pilot hopefuls.” Hunk says, glancing towards the library door. “I figured I’d get some studying in.”

Keith tilts his head the other way. “Let’s go get lunch.”

Hunk blinks. “I, uh, okay.”

And Keith drags him out of the library and towards the cafeteria.

~*~

Hunk is ridiculously smart, Keith learns. Just as smart as Katie. He’s part of the engineering track, but he’s reading all the textbooks for the piloting and communications tracks as well. “Never hurts to be prepared.” He says with a shrug, then grimaces. “The food here is terrible.”

Keith perks up. “I know! It’s so gross!”

Turns out Hunk’s grandfather is a gourmet chef, and so is Hunk, to a lesser extent. “Just give me an hour in the kitchens and I could make us something spectacular.”

“Yes, please. Anything other than shitty Garrison mush.” Keith growls.

He decides he really likes Hunk.

Shiro shows up eventually and Hunk bolts up, snapping a salute. “Lieutenant Shirogane, sir!” he squeaks.

Keith glances up. “Hey, Shiro.”

Hunk balks, giving Keith a frantic look like “ _don’t you know who this is!?”_.

“At ease, cadet.” Shiro says in amusement, then wraps an arm around Keith’s shoulders and presses a kiss to the top of his head. “Hey, baby.”

Keith purrs, and Hunk looks star-struck.

 “Shiro, this is Hunk. He’s really cool. Hunk, this is Shiro, my boyfriend.” Keith says casually.

Hunk sinks back into his chair as Shiro sits next to Keith and hands him a bento.

“You’re dating Lieutenant Shirogane. The Garrison’s golden boy.” He says in awe.

Shiro flushes red and rubs the back of his neck. Keith laughs. “Dude, just call him Shiro. He hates the ‘Lieutenant’ crap.”

“Keith!”

“What? You do.”

Hunk still seems nervous, but he opens up when Shiro starts asking him about his classes. Keith is pleased that the other cadet is feeling a little less freaked out.

~*~

Keith is attempting to teach Shiro Galran, which is not going very well.

“There’s a lot of throat work involved.” Keith says sympathetically as Shiro chugs down his water bottle.

“I’m relatively sure humans can’t even make that noise.” Shiro says a minute later. Keith pouts.

“I can.”

“Keith, you’re not fully human.”

Keith tilts his head, considering. “Fair enough.”

Keith is pleased to note that his Japanese lessons are going a lot better than Shiro’s Galra ones. Once he’d mentioned to Shiro he was trying to learn Japanese for his family’s ease, Shiro had offered to teach him.

“But I can take classes online.” He’d said.

Shiro had shaken his head. “Japanese is one of the hardest languages to learn. Trust me, it will be better if I teach you one-on-one.”

Keith had wanted to point out that he already knew nine languages, including four who’s native speakers had been dead for almost ten thousand years, and at this point already knew Japanese at a conversational level, but decided against it. Shiro was so enthusiastic about teaching him, he just couldn’t say no. And it did give him an excuse to spend more time with his mate, which was awesome.

(was he really already thinking of Shiro as his mate?)

(yes, yes he was)

Besides, the extremely tender look on Shiro’s face the first time Keith ever said “aishiteru” was worth everything.

~*~

Keith keeps having lunch with Hunk. He’s a really cool guy, and even though the other cadet can’t seem to consciously hear him purring, it appears to help him relax. Which Keith will count as a win.

He’s met Hunk’s friend. Only once, and he’s not even sure he caught the guy’s name, but he caught enough to know that the guy liked putting on a cocky bravado but was really seething with jealously and ambition.

Hunk did end up cooking for him and Shiro. Keith managed to sneak them all into the kitchens after hours and Hunk had made them a fantastic dinner, and dessert! Chocolate dessert!

“He really loves chocolate, doesn’t he?” Hunk had said to Shiro in amusement.

“You have no idea.”

Keith also keeps sneaking parts from the tech labs in hopes of reconfiguring his ship, but he doesn’t hate Earth the way he used to. He still wants to leave, desperately. He needs to know if his fathers are alive. But, it will hurt to leave his new packmates. He knows he’ll come back, if only to see them.

Not Shiro, though. Shiro’s coming with him, dammit. He’s not leaving his mate behind.

Though, apparently, Shiro will not be allowed to return the courtesy. He finds out one week before Thanksgiving.

~*~

Shiro finds Keith in his (their) room in the officer’s barracks. The hybrid is stretched out on the bed, humming along to a song on his music player and reading one of the various novels Shiro keeps in his room. As soon as Shiro steps in the door, Keith’s head whips up, and he chirps in concern. Sometimes he’s grateful to have a boyfriend who can read his emotions so easily. He’s not sure if this is one of those times.

“You smell weird.” Keith says, frowning, and tugs out his earbuds. He sits up and eyes Shiro warily. “Like, stale excitement, and regret, and nerves. What’s going on?”

“You remember that mission Commander Holt was talking about a few months ago?” Shiro asks quietly, walking over and sitting next to Keith on the bed, taking his hand carefully. “The one to Kerberos?”

Keith twitches. “I remember.”

“Well, I’ve been chosen to be the pilot for the mission. It, uh, we leave in three months.”

Keith freezes. “No.”

“It’s only for six months.” He’s quick to say. “It’s really not as long as it could have been, but they don’t want to risk us being there too long since no one’s ever been before. I’ll be back before you know it.”

“Shiro, you can’t go.” Keith says, and he… he sounds _scared._ “If you go you might not come back.”

Shiro’s brow furrows. “What?”

“I remembered where I’d heard Kerberos before.” Keith whispers. “In one of our spy’s reports, they mentioned that the empire had found a new inhabited solar system, and that a patrol was going to monitor the area around what they thought was a small cluster of planets, Pluto and its moons.” Keith shudders and grips Shiro’s hand. “I remember reading it over Kolivan’s shoulder, because it said something about Earth and I was curious.” He looks up at Shiro, pleadingly. “Shiro if you go, they’ll find you.”

Shiro pulls Keith into his side, and the younger man whines, tucking himself into Shiro’s neck. “You don’t know that.” Shiro says gently. “The report said monitoring, right? They might just observe. Or they might not even be there. You read this report over two years ago, right? Maybe they came, did their observations, and left. Or they might not have gotten around to it. Don’t automatically assume the worst, baby.”

“I can’t help it.” Keith whimpers. “You didn’t grow up with the threat of the empire looming over your head. I did. I know what they’re capable of, and I’m _scared for you_.”

“I know.” Shiro says and kisses the top of Keith’s head. “But it’ll be okay. Why would they bother taking three random humans? You said they’re only interested in the strongest a species has to offer, right? So why would they bother a few nerds looking at some ice?”

Keith chokes out a laugh.

“Don’t worry, baby. I’ll come back to you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no, Shiro, listen to your mate he knows what's up.  
> Funny enough, vague smut is harder to write than explicit smut. Who knew.  
> I am officially back on my regular schedule (just in time to finish Part 2, sorry) so the last chapter will be out Wednesday. See you all then!


	10. The Crash

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, ladies and gentleman and other. The Kerberos mission. Enjoy*!  
> (*you probably won't)

Keith can’t help but worry. Of course he can’t. He’s terrified that the empire is going to find Shiro’s expedition – which also includes _Matt and Commander Holt as if he needed more reasons to freak out_ – and take them. He doesn’t want Shiro to be at the mercy of the empire. If it were up to Keith, Shiro would live a life _completely_ empire-free. But Shiro is going, and so all Keith can do is prepare him for what might happen.

“Don’t talk back to them, they don’t appreciate that.” He says as he watches Shiro move around the room, packing. “And they have these things, gladiator games. They make prisoners fight in them. If you end up there, don’t try to talk your way out of it. And don’t try to reason with your opponent. One of you _has_ to kill the other. Or else you’ll both die, and I’d really rather you make it out alive. And most warships are manned mostly by sentries, and they’re all programmed the same, so if you can figure something out about one of them, it will be true for all of them. And all Galra food is safe for human consumption, I should know. Emperor Zarkon has a witch, Haggar. She and her druids are nasty, and they can use magic to get in your head so if they take you to them, be prepared. Oh, and-”

“Keith.” Shiro says, taking his shoulders. “Stop. It’s going to be okay. I promise. The empire is not going to take us. None of this info dump and constant worry is necessary.”

“But promise me you’ll remember it anyway.” Keith pleads, looking up at Shiro. He knows he must look terrified, judging by Shiro’s furrowed brow. “Promise me you’ll remember what I’ve told you, just in case. And… and promise me that, if they do take you, that you’ll hold on. That you’ll survive. Because I swear to the gods, Shiro, if they take you, _I will find you_.”

Shiro’s eyes soften. “Keith-”

“ _Promise me_.” Keith begs. “Please, Takashi.”

Shiro takes a deep breath and presses their foreheads together. “I promise.”

Keith takes a shuddering breath, and kisses Shiro hungrily. He feels like if he doesn’t, then he might never be able to again. It scares him, that Shiro is doing this. He doesn’t want to risk his mate. He’d do _anything_ if he could keep Shiro away from this mission. He understands now, why his fathers did what they did, sending him away. If he could, he’d send Shiro to the other side of the universe if it meant keeping him out of the empire’s clutches.

“Please, Shiro.” Keith whispers. “Please come back.”

“I will.” Shiro murmurs, kissing him again gently. “I will always come back to you. I swear.”

He curls up in a ball on the bed, watching Shiro continue to pack up his things. He can’t take much, but that makes it harder. Choosing only a few important things. Keith knows the feeling. He chirps questioningly when he sees Shiro add a photo of the two if them, and Shiro laughs.

“Matt and Commander Holt are bringing pictures of Colleen and Katie. I get to bring pictures of my family too.” He shows Keith another photo, this one taken at the Shiroganes’ house last Christmas. And there’s Keith, arms wrapped around Shiro with the older man kissing his cheek.

“They both have me.” He says.

“Well, you’re my family too, obviously.” Shiro says fondly. “Part of my pack. My mate.”

Keith whines and tugs Shiro onto the bed.

“I love you, Takashi Shirogane.” He murmurs, looking up into Shiro’s storm-colored eyes.

Shiro brushes a lock of hair off Keith’s cheek and kisses him gently. “And I love you, Keith Thace Kogane. More than anything. And I promise, I will come back to you.”

Keith whimpers and noses against Shiro’s neck, closing his eyes tightly.

“You’d better.”

~*~

Keith wakes up early on the day of the Kerberos Mission launch. Even before Shiro himself is awake. He curls against his mate’s side and closes his eyes, listening to the older man’s breath, his steady heartbeat. Keith is going to miss those sounds. He’s going to miss Shiro. Hopefully he will only be missing him for those six moths the expedition is scheduled to be gone.

When Shiro wakes, he watches as he dresses, and then follows him down to the launch bay. Shiro had taken him out to show him the ship a few days before.

“I know it’s not as impressive as your ship,” he’d said, laughing, “But it’ll do the job.”

“I don’t want you to go.” He whispers as they arrive at the drop-off point. Shiro’s family had said their goodbyes last night; this moment was for Keith and Shiro.

“I know, baby. I don’t want to leave you either. But I swear, I will be back.” Shiro murmurs and kisses him deeply.

Keith whimpers and clings to Shiro, but eventually he has to release him.

“Please, be safe.” He says as Shiro adjusts his bag. “And… remember what I said.”

Shiro nods. “I will.” He kisses Keith one last time, and then he joins Matt and Commander Holt over by the elevator, and Keith goes to the stands to watch the ship take off.

He sits with Katie and Ryou and the girls. The adults had all had to work, but the kids (and Ryou) had been allowed to skip out on their obligations to see the launch.

“This is so exciting!” Katie says, bouncing in her seat as the rockets start to fire. “Kerberos! We’ve never gone that far, and my brother and father are going to be the first!”

“Hey, our brother too!” Miki says, but she’s grinning as well.

“How did he seem this morning, Keith?” Mio asks. “Did he seem nervous?”

“Yeah.” Keith croaks, and swallows. “He was, but I’m more nervous.”

Mio gives him a concerned look and takes his hand. “He’ll be back soon.” She says gently.

There is an arm slung across his shoulders then and Ryou tugs Keith into his side. “Don’t worry, buddy. My brother knows what he’s doing. And he’d never leave you worrying for too long.”

“Yeah.” Keith whispers, and they watch the ship take off. “Please be careful, Shiro.” He murmurs, and thankfully the rockets are so loud, none of the others can hear him.

~*~

Keith waits.

He waits for two months to hear about the Kerberos mission arriving safely. Then he waits some more. Three months after the Kerberos mission left Earth, the Garrison declares the mission lost.

Due to “pilot error”.

Keith closes his eyes.

~*~

“I want to go up after them.”

Iverson spits out his mouthful of coffee as Keith bangs the door open.

“What? Cadet Kogane-!”

“I want to go up after the Kerberos team.” He says again.

Iverson fumes. “Absolutely not! We are not risking losing anyone else!”

“I can do it.” Keith says. “You know I can do it.”

“Look, I get that Shirogane was important to you, but he’s _dead_ , Kogane. And you need to accept that.”

“He’s not dead.” Keith says. “You said it was pilot error, but we both know that’s bullshit. Shiro’s the best you idiots have, and you know it. They’re alive. All of them. And I’m going to find them.”

“No!” Iverson stands. “And I don’t want to hear another word about this mission!”

Keith raises an eyebrow. “You know it too, don’t you? You know they’re not dead. You know there’s no sign of a crash. You have _no idea_ what really happened to them. But I do. And I’m going to find them. With or without your help.”

Iverson opens his mouth but stops when Keith takes off his uniform jacket and tosses it on the desk.

“I’m leaving the Garrison.” He turns to walks out, but a hand on his arm stops him.

“Kogane, you-”

Keith snarls, then, deciding _screw it_ whirls around and punches the commander in the face. The man flies backwards and hits the desk, clutching at his eye. Surprisingly he doesn’t curse, just stands there, leaning against his desk, gaping like a fish.

“I’m _leaving_.” He hisses. “You claim you know about your galaxy, but you don’t know a void-damned _thing_.”

He turns and stalks out of the room, feeling the shift prickling under his skin. He ignores it. Ignores everyone. The Garrison couldn’t help him. They never could. If Keith wanted to get off Earth, he’d just have to do it himself.

He packs quickly and intends to leave as soon as he does so, but is delayed by a knock on his door. When he opens it, Hunk is standing there, wringing his hands in front of them.

“Hunk,” Keith says, bristling anger deflating.

“I’m so sorry.” Hunk says quietly.

Keith closes his eyes. He’s trying not to think about it right now.

“Thanks.” He murmurs, then leans forwards, resting his forehead against Hunk’s shoulder, taking comfort in the scent of _pack_ and _safe_.

Hunk’s arms wrap around him and they stay like that for several long moments.

“You’re packing?” Hunk asks, clearly seeing the messy bag on his bed (Shiro’s bed, technically) behind him.

“I can’t stay here.” Keith says. “They can’t help me find him. I’m going to have to do it myself.”

Hunk is quiet for a few more minutes, then tugs Keith back to look down at him. “I want to ask you to stay, but I know you won’t, so instead let me wish you good luck. If you need anything, please, tell me. Don’t just… disappear, okay?”

“I promise I won’t.” Keith tells him. He only has so many people left. Like hell he’s losing anyone else, for any reason.

~*~

He goes to the Holts’ first.

A few moments after his knock, Colleen opens the door with red-rimmed eyes. “Oh. Keith.” She says quietly and wipes her eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Colleen.” He murmurs and lets her pull him into a hug.

“Thank you, dear.” She whispers, then pulls back and her expression pulls back into a mask of poise. “Katie is upstairs in her room. I think it would be good for her to see you right now.”

Keith climbs the stairs and slowly pushes open the door to Katie’s room. There are books and papers thrown everywhere, and it looks like the window is cracked. Katie is curled up on her bed, shoulders shaking. Bae is on the rug at the foot of her bed, curled up and whining quietly. He looks up when he sees Keith and his tail wags slowly, but he doesn’t get up.

“Katie.”

The girl turns, tears streaming down her face. She’s a mess. “Keith,” her voice is thick, and she holds out her arms to him.

Keith walks over and sits on the bed, wrapping his arms around the girl tightly as she sobs.

“It’s not _fair_.” She wails. “They’re not _dead_. Why are they lying to everyone? Why won’t they go _find them??_ ”

Keith tightens his grip on her, and purrs quietly. “They don’t know what happened. But you and I? We’re going to find them. Screw the Garrison. We can find our families on our own.”

Katie pulls back and wipes at her eyes. “Yeah?”

Keith smiles thinly. “You’re a Holt. Genius and courage are par for the course. And I’m stubborn as hell. Nothing in the universe can stop us when we set our minds to something.”

She smiles. “Keith and Katie versus the universe, huh?”

Keith grins back and knocks their foreheads together. “Hell yeah.”

~*~

Then he goes to the Shiroganes’.

He opens the door with the spare key and slips off his shoes, padding down the hall and into the large dining room.

Keiko, Shiro’s grandmother, is sitting there, staring at her hands. She looks up when Keith walks over.

_“_ Keith.” She rasps. She is the picture of composure, except for the way her wrinkled hands are shaking on the tabletop.

“Gomenasai, Obaba.” Keith murmurs, kneeling next to her and hugging her carefully. She pats his back, hands still shaking. When he pulls back, he catches her eyes watering, and she looks down at the table.

“Sachiko-san wa dokodesu ka?” He asks, and she points towards the kitchen. He bows, then stands again and walks towards the doorway.

Sachiko isn’t the only one in there. Daichi has an arm around his wife’s shaking shoulders.

Daichi sees him as he enters. “Keith.”

Sachiko’s head snaps up. “Oh, Keith,” She says, voice shaky, then she straightens and crosses the room to pull him into a tight hug.

“I can’t imagine what you’re going through.” He says to her.

“Oh sweetie, you must be hurting so much too.” She says, cupping his face in her hands.

“I’m kind of numb.” He says honestly.

She nods and kisses his cheek. “Please stay for dinner. For… for Takashi’s sake.”

He nods. “I will. Of course I will.” He pauses, looking down the hall towards the rest of the house. “Where are Ryou and the girls?”

“In Takashi’s room.” Daichi answers, coming up beside them and settling a hand on Keith’s shoulder, just like Shiro does. “You should go see them. They were worried about you.”

He nods, and once Sachiko releases him, he walks through the house to Shiro’s room and pushes the door open.

The girls are sitting on the bed, holding hands tightly. Mio’s free hand is covering her face as she cries, and Miki’s free hand is gripped in the sheets. Her jaw is clenched, and she’s glaring down at her lap.

Ryou is in Shiro’s desk chair, elbows on his knees, and staring out the window. His face is blank, numb, just like Keith’s is.

“Keith.” He says before he even looks up. “I figured you’d be by.”

Keith nods. “Of course I came.”

“Keith!” the girls cry, and then he’s being squeezed between them.

“How did this happen?” Mio sobs. “How could they let this happen?”

“Fucking _pilot error._ ” Miki snarls. “That’s _bullshit_. Why don’t they just fucking say _they screwed up_ and got our brother _killed?_ ”

Keith hugs them as they cling to him and looks up at Ryou. He looks exhausted.

“Why him?” Ryou says quietly. “Why him, Keith? Why Takashi?”

Keith growls quietly. “I don’t know, Ryou. I wish I did. I wish I could give you _answers_.” He really does, but telling them about the empire… about what’s probably happening to Shiro right now? It would be worse than thinking he’s dead.

~*~

He stays for dinner. Never has a meal in the Shirogane household been so quiet.

Ryou walks him to the door in silence, and then over to the hoverbike ( _Shiro’s_ hoverbike. He’d brought it with the intention of returning it to them, but they’d refused. “Keep it, Keith.” Daichi had said. “He’d want you to have it.”). Before Ryou can turn back towards the house, Keith grips him in a fierce hug.

“I’m going to find him, Ryou.” He says. “I don’t know how, or how long it will take, but I swear to gods, I’ll find him.”

Ryou pulls back to look at him searchingly, before a small smile appears on his face. It’s the first proper expression Keith’s seen on him all day.

“I believe that.” Shiro’s twin says softly. “If it were anyone else, I’d call that useless platitudes, but with you? I fucking believe it.”

~*~

Keith goes back to his shack in the desert. He forgot how lonely it is out here. He forgot how much he despises being alone. But he needs to be alone for what he’s going to be doing.

The next morning, he slings a bag of supplies over his shoulder and mounts the hoverbike, speeding out into the desert, chasing the strange purring he’d heard when he first landed, and every time he’d been in the desert since. And that purring?

It sounds like a drive core. A ship.

“Hang on, Shiro.” He whispers in the desert air. “I’ll find you.”

 

END PART 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus ends Part 2. As with the end of LBAH, there will be a brief gap between this and Part 3, but there will be a Part 3 and beyond. This series is out of control and I can't be stopped so if you are wanting more, you've got it! If you don't want more, well, you've got it anyway!   
> For those of you who read Last of the Real Ones, that will continue to update as usual. For those of you who just read this series, I hope your next few weeks are pleasant and I'll see you soon! And if you choose to stop here, than thank you for reading!


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